Slaves of the Confederacy
by Pengping
Summary: Sequel to "The Power of the Sith." Serra has defeated and captured Obi-Wan Kenobi. She now travels to Zygerria to get a slave to tend to the Gungan girl she just won. The bounty on her head has unfortunately encouraged Cad Bane to hunt her down. He can catch her, but whether or not he can bring her to his ship and trade her for the reward without her escaping remains to be seen.
1. A New Target

_**"To overestimate yourself and underestimate your opponents is to court defeat"**_

* * *

 _Tensions mount. Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi is now in Separatists hands. Wary of the threat Serra poses, Chancellor Palpatine has allowed the Republic to place a bounty on her head. The only condition: she is to be brought in alive._

 _Serra, confident from her defeat of Kenobi, travels to Zyggeria's slave market with her companion Lyrii. Her wishes are to buy a slave to tend the Gungan child she has recently won rights to before she is deployed to Felucia. Unknown to her, the bounty has convinced some that she is worth the effort to capture._

* * *

The image of Serra Winters threw palelight across the room, and illuminated the blue skin of the one looking at it. The image displayed on the holocomm was from Serra's transmission with Skywalker. Cad Bane sighed. The girl did not look like much of a threat, but he had known her mother. If Heather had trained her to be half as well as she had been, then Serra was quite a threat.

In the image, Serra was wearing a cloak, half-drawn over her shoulders. From what Bane could observe, the only weapons she had were her lightsaber and a blaster. That was good. Most Jedi would carry only a lightsaber, but he would hardly expect the daughter of Heather Winters to act like a Jedi.

Far more troubling was the fact that her blade was red. "A Sith," he sighed. It would make this mission more interesting.

His communicator chimed and he switched off the image of his next target to answer. Image of Aurra Sing and Bossk appeared.

"Bane," Aurra greeted him. "You said you had a target?"

Cad Bane didn't bother to sit straight, "Yes."

"Pressent," "How will we ssplit the bounty?" Bossk hissed.

"Money first, eh?" Bane gave a slight smirk. "We split it three ways, even."

"What about the target?" Aurra asked. "The last time we worked together was to free a Hutt. I hope you won't be planning something like that again."

"No," Bane promised her. "It's a Republic bounty this time."

"Republic?" Aurra apprised him. "They don't have very many bounties out."

"It's a capture mission," Bane went on, ignoring Aurra's comment. "We have to bring her to the Republic alive."

"Her," Aurra tilted her head curiously. "Who is she?"

"Winters," Bane said.

There was a moment's pause as both of his companions realized who he meant.

Aurra said, "The Jedi Hunter" at the same instant Bossk hissed, "Sith."

"Yes to both," Bane replied. "She's got the highest bounty on the charts right now."

Aurra shook her head and Bossk hissed his displeasure.

"You've got a problem," Bane challenged them.

"Hunting Republic targets is one thing," Bossk told him. "I can deal with Jedi. She is a Sith. I do not want to be hunted by the Sith."

"I've got to agree with Bossk," Aurra told Bane. "Besides, I've worked with Serra's mother in the past. I have no feud with her. You know, you've done a few jobs with Heather. If she had put more effort into hunting bounties instead of Jedi she would have been better than Jango."

"Well she didn't and with Jango gone, I'm the top bounty hunter. I can handle Heather's brat," Bane dismissed.

Aurra narrowed her eyes. Heather had been not only deadly but honorable, a rare combination. Rarer still was the fact that despite having honor, she was still successful. If you tried to blindside her, then you'd get your throat cut, but otherwise she would not betray you. She wouldn't cut out on a job and leave you dry, try and kill you so she could take your share of bounty, or just let you die so she could take your share of bounty. She protected those who were on a job with her.

Heather and Aurra had worked together quite a few times and between Aurra's rifle and Heather's Force abilities, they had made a remarkable team. Aurra had come to trust Heather, one of the only people she did. Less than a half a year ago, Heather had been killed by the Jedi and Aurra would not betray her by hunting her daughter.

Aurra did not say all of that and simply told Bane, "Then you handle her." She turned off the communicator on her end.

Her image vanished, and so Cad Bane was left speaking to only Bossk. Bane scowled. He never could depend on Aurra. "What about it, Bossk? Are you in?"

Bossk hissed as he thought. Heather's code and success had made her a legend to the other bounty hunters. He had never had the honor of working a job with her, but he was wary about attacking her daughter. Like her mother, Serra could use the Force and unlike Heather, Serra was a Sith. "I for one do not want to get my neck snapped when she waves her hand. Hunt her yourself." Then he to, shut off his communicator.

Bane stared at the communicator and then slammed a hand on the desk in a moment of frustration. Aurra and Bossk were not the first bounty hunters he'd contacted. All of the others had said the same. Either they were not willing to disrespect Heather by targeting her daughter or they were scared of Serra's title of Sith.

The name Winters had given Serra a badge of immunity from nearly all of the bounty hunters – a mother's last gift to her child. When you combined that with Serra's reputation she became untouchable. Serra had defeated Obi-Wan Kenobi and captured him alive without getting a scratch on herself. That was respectable. Bane understood Bossk's reasoning because of that, but Aurra?

"Fine," Bane growled, "if no one wants to help me then I'll capture the brat myself."

* * *

 **Serra is luckier then she realizes. If she wasn't Winters then she'd have a lot more to deal with then Bane although Bane on his own isn't easy to deal with. Dooku was right to be worried about the bounty on his apprentice's head before. Now the question is, in a confrontation who would win?**


	2. Slaver's Pride

" _Dark_ _Starr_ , this is control. You are cleared to land on Platform C2. Thank you for your business and I hope you enjoy our auction."

"Control, this is _Dark_ _Starr_ , I read you and confirm." Serra Winters responded.

She turned off the comm and disengaged the autopilot so she could land her ship herself. Things were quiet in _Dark_ _Starr's_ bridge and the ship rocked as it touched down on the landing platform.

"There," Serra said as she released the controls and unbuckled herself. "We're here with an hour to spare."

Her companion in the co-pilot's seat said nothing.

"Lyrii," Serra said gently, "are you alright? You didn't have to come."

"I'll be fine," Lyrii said sharply. She unbuckled her harness and stood sharply, walking from the bridge.

"Sure," Serra muttered to herself, "just fine."

Serra finished powering down the ship and then walked after Lyrii. She looked down and made sure that her dagger and blaster were present and that her lightfoil was out of sight. Then she walked after Lyrii. Lyrii was wearing a plain gray cloak when Serra caught up to her. It was tugged over her shoulders to hide her lightsabers and the hood was pulled up to hide her yellow eyes.

Serra sighed. "Lyrii, you don't need to wear a cloak. The Republic's got a bounty on my head, not yours."

Serra's attempt to lighten the mood did nothing for Lyrii.

"I don't like being here," Lyrii muttered.

"Then you should have stayed at base with Page," Serra told her as she swung her own cloak over her shoulders and clasped it at the base of her throat.

Hers was a nondescript black instead of Jedi brown. She tugged at the Force and closed her eyes. When she opened them, their gold and crimson color was replaced by a natural blue shade.

"And let you come alone?" Lyrii challenged. She scoffed, "knowing you, that wouldn't be a good idea."

"What does that mean?" Serra growled defensively. "I am not that bad.

Lyrii rolled her eyes and tapped on the landing ramp. It slowly descended. Serra pulled up her hood and walked down it with Lyrii following. They walked from their ship to the town, passing under a giant archway. Instantly, the sun was blocked out by the tall buildings. A collage of sounds came from the stalls set up in the town, and there was wild hooting around the rings where creatures were set to fight to the death.

Neither Sith were bothered by this. The strong survive, that was the way of things. What bothered Serra was seeing a green-skinned Twi'lek girl no older than them standing on the edge of the street. A Zygerrian was speaking to a Weequay, telling him the girl's skills to try and sell her. Zygerrians were one of the few races who understood that the strong rule, but they got it wrong. You do not enslave the weak, you let them die.

Beside Serra, Lyrii pulled the hood up deeper to hide her features and her hatred for this. A gang of Twi'lek slaves were being escorted down a street and so the two of them had to pause to let them pass. The Zygerrian in charge of them was calling orders for them to move faster. When one stumbled and fell the Zygerrian shouted at the scum to get up.

The Twi'lek tried to stand but must have been taking too long because the Zygerrian took a shock whip from his belt and raised it above his head. The crack of it was lost in the bustle of the city and ignored by mostly everyone.

Lyrii's hands slipped inside her cloak for a moment before she caught herself and crossed them in front of her chest defensively. Her lightsabers were hidden in her cloak.

"At ease Lyrii," Serra whispered to her when Lyrii did not remove her eyes from the slave master. "You're not being sold this time."

Finally, the Twi'lek stood and rejoined the line. There were stripes on his back from the whip. The group of Twi'leks passed and they continued walking.

Lyrii was not saying a word. She took a slight inward breath to calm herself. Her past was of no concern to her. Besides, it was not as if any of the slave masters would recognize her.

Serra resumed walking and Lyrii followed. They were early for the slave auction, but it would take some time to walk to the arena. They started heading down the streets. Serra eyed the camera droids that were hovering around and the lounging Zygerrian guards in uniform.

Ahead, two of the guards were walking towards them and Serra could sense that two were coming from behind. They had their weapons ready. Lyrii caught Sera's eye as Serra reached for her blaster instead of her lightfoil. So, it was to be blasters only.

Lyrii didn't give any outward response, but she lowered her hands to her sides.

The guards closed in on them further and a few camera droids buzzed. It all happened in a flash. Evidently, the guards had been trying to take them by surprise but Serra had sensed their intentions. As they reached for their weapons, Serra and Lyrii went back to back.

The guards were surprised by their action and opened fire. They were shooting stun bolts. Serra and Lyrii dodged the bolts and each of them went after two. Around them, the crowd gawked as four guards attacked and four guards were sent sprawling onto the ground. Untouched by the guards, the two girls stood there. Their cloaks were unruffled and their hoods were still up. Serra focused and realized that _they_ were not the target – _she_ was.

The guards stood again quickly, ready for more action. Serra stopped the charade and drew her lightfoil with a snap-hiss. The needle sharp blade of crimson and black glowed as it materialized. Hesitant, the guards froze in their tracks when confronted with the lightfoil.

Serra savored their surprise and hesitant fear as she said calmly. "Unless I'm mistaken, I believe you are looking for me."

"Yes," one of them said as he stood again, arm throbbing from where Serra had dislocated the shoulder. "You're Serra? The Separatist?"

"Serra Winters," Serra introduced fully, ignoring the look Lyrii was giving her. "Are you interested in the bounty?"

"We have no alliance with the Republic," The guard told her.

Disgust curled his lip. He was thinking of how the Republic continually tried to destroy Zygerria's slave trade, its lifeblood. Someone, he thought, needed to enslave those weaklings and he was hopeful that the Confederacy would. All he wanted was a chance to help them out.

"Our queen heard word of your arrival," another guard said. He was older and seemed to be the one in command. "She wished to speak with you."

"Pheraps it would have been better if you had spoken first and readied your weapons second," Serra mused. She deactivated her lightfoil and clipped it onto her belt out of sight, "Although Zygerrians have never been the most diplomatic race."

The people around them, which had fallen silent in excitement and watched for a coming blood bath, now went back to their duties. It was clear that they would get no entertainment from them.

The guards had seething looks as Serra, uninjured, took a step back and calmly waved for them to lead on. They fell in step around the two of them as they led them to the queen, two in front of the girls and two behind. It amused Serra when the four guards encircled them as if they could suddenly be a threat to her.

* * *

The doors to the throne room opened quietly and Serra entered with her escort. Beyond her, Miraj Scintel was sitting on her throne. Scintel turned her luminous yellow-green eyes onto the visitors. Another Zygerrian – this one a male in uniform – stood near the throne.

"Serra Winters I presume?" Scintel asked with her entrancing purr.

"You are correct, your majesty," Serra dipped her head in greeting, waving a hand to compliment the bow. "I heard you wished to speak with me."

"Yes," Scintel spoke with a purr. "Word has spread quickly. The defeat of General Kenobi is no mean feat. It is quite a way to introduce yourself to this galaxy."

Scintel stood and walked down from her throne.

"Thank you, your majesty," Serra smiled, remembering her manners.

Scintel waved a hand and a yellow-skinned Twi'lek maiden stepped forward, head bowed and eyes to the floor. She wore a tight-fitting blue outfit and a brilliant pink cap on her head. Mutely, she offered a platter. On it were three wood cups filled with what Serra presumed to be some sort of wine.

"Perhaps if you wish to speak to me, you might instruct your guards to speak before they reach for their blasters," Serra offered.

She took one of the glasses out of respect, but Lyrii waved the Twi'lek girl away.

Scintel chuckled. "Yes, so it appears."

She looked over at the four guards. They had respectfully stayed near the doorway. Despite wearing armor, the queen could tell they were injured. The Zygerrian standing near the throne nodded dismissal to the four guards. They left and the doors closed after him.

The queen took a sip of the wine and Serra raised the glass to her lips, feigning a drink. She didn't believe that Scintel would be foolish enough as to drug her, but it was best safe than sorry.

"Of course" Serra dropped, "the bounty the Republic placed on me could not have anything to do with your knowledge of me."

Scintel laughed. This girl knew a bit about verbal sparring. "It was a factor. Who is your friend?" She glanced at Lyrii. "I do not believe I have met her."

"No," Lyrii promised, her voice sharp, "you haven't."

Scintel recoiled slightly, surprised at the venom in Lyrii's voice. "Not a handmaiden I take it."

"She _is_ a friend," Serra said.

She didn't introduce Lyrii. So far, the Jedi had no intelligence on her. The more people that knew about Lyrii, the greater chance the Republic would learn and Serra preferred to keep them in the dark as much as possible.

Scintel looked at Lyrii and the girl raised her head slightly. The queen saw Lyrii's golden eyes faintly and the hatred in them. Lyrii did not flinch away. She stood at attention, behind Serra, ready to strike and clearly more than willing should it be needed.

"You have not introduced me to _your_ friend either, your majesty," Serra interrupted with a glance at the male Zygerrian.

"That is Atai Molec," Scintel introduced. "He is my Prime Minister."

"Does he always stay in the Throne Room?" Serra asked. With the queen's gaze averted, she was able to shoot a glare over at Lyrii.

"No, he has other duties," Scintel dismissed. "He is helping me prepare for the auction later tonight. That is why you are here, is it not?"

"I am in need of a slave," Serra agreed. "I can think of no better place than Zygerria."

"What kind do you need?" Scintel asked, taking another sip of the drink. "We have many."

"I have become the… guardian of an infant," Serra admitted. "She requires a nursemaid, one well broken."

"Obedience is guaranteed among our slaves," Scintel promised. "Our processing is quite thorough."

Serra nearly winced when Scintel said that. She could feel Lyrii's impatience growing.

"It is?" Serra said, interrupting what Lyrii had been about to say. "That is good."

"Indeed." Scintel was unsure why Serra's companion had so little patience for slavery.

The Confederacy's purchase of slaves had made Zygerria quite well off. Why was she with the Confederacy if she does not like slavery? Perhaps pushing the issue would allow something to come to light.

"Slavery is the natural order of things, do you not agree?" Scintel asked Serra. "I know little of the Sith, but that seems correct."

"The Sith Code says that the strong shall rule," Serra agreed, "or at least that is what I have read."

"Yes and the weak deserve nothing more than to kneel before the strong, bound to our service." Scintel continued with her prodding. That got a response from Serra's companion. She placed her at last.

"It is not often that one of our slave's returns to Zygerria as a free woman," Scintel shot.

Lyrii jerked her head up.

"Pardon?" Serra asked.

"Your friend here," Scintel waved at Lyrii. "The noble selflessness in her eyes, the commitment to something greater then herself – to you and the Confederacy. She was once a slave. I believe she is familiar with our processing so that would make her one of ours."

The yellow Twi'lek's lekku rippled in surprise as she raised her brown eyes to Lyrii. She was a slave and now she was free? You can become free?

Lyrii finally reached up and lowered her hood. Her eyes, turned golden by the Dark Side, glimmered with emotion. The movement tugged aside the hem of her cloak, revealing at least one lightsaber on her the left side of her waist.

"I was but a few years old when I went through your processing, _majesty_. I think you will find that I would make a very poor slave now." She set a hand on the one lightsaber Scintel had already seen.

Some of the guards that had remained behind in the throne room raised their blasters towards her.

Serra winced at Lyrii's wording. Normally Lyrii was the calm, collected, and foresighted one, yet now Serra found that their roles had switched. She let go of the glass and used the Force to hover it back over to the Twi'lek servant who was watching the exchange.

"Majesty Scintel, the slave auction will begin soon," Serra attempted to barter. "If I may, we need to leave in order to be there in time."

Scintel looked away from Lyrii. She seemed amused.

"Do not," she told Serra.

Serra didn't understand. Don't attend the auction?

"I have no feud with the Confederacy," Scintel elaborated. "Perhaps I could do a private sale. You and your… friend can look around. I will have someone escort you to the pits so you can see."

"Thank you," Serra did bow this time, but only slightly.

Scintel held out a hand and Atai Molec walked to her. "I must see to the auction, but you and your friend may find someone to tend to your child. When you find them come and see me, I wish to speak to you before we leave. I will be at the auction for some time to come."

Serra didn't like it. Scintel had changed her personality too quickly, but she knew well enough to not pick a fight. She nodded and with a motion to Lyrii, followed Scintel outside of the throne room.

Lyrii paused and glanced over at the yellow-skinned Twi'lek. She tilted her head, giving her permission to speak.

"You-you are free now?" The handmaiden whispered.

Lyrii sensed an opportunity to get a little revenge on Scintel for her own enslavement, so she reached out to the Twi'lek's mind gently as she spoke.

"You are free the moment you choose to be," she told the Twi'lek. "Someone needs to teach that lesson to Miraj Scintel."

The Twi'lek didn't say anything as Lyrii left, but she would remember her words. One day, she would try and kill Scintel with a knife and Anakin Skywalker, under the alias Lars Quell, would stop her. That would not happen for some time yet though.

* * *

 **This is right after Serra has her new apprentice - Roo Roo Page. Since she's going off to war, she needs someone to take care of her and she doesn't have very much interest in raising an infant. Not much was mentioned with Lyrii in the last story, but this one will focus more on both her and Serra's history, as well as Heather. There will be no Jedi battles but Cad Bane is obviously in it, and unlike Jedi, bounty hunters fight to win.**


	3. Second Shadow

Scientel was true to her word. Although she left, one of her Royal Guard stayed behind for an escort. The private sale saved Serra the trouble of the auction, but she still wasn't sure why Scientel was doing this. Lyrii's arguing with the queen should have made her less tractable, not more. Right now, Serra wanted to give Lyrii a piece of her mind over her outburst but didn't, not with the Royal Guard escorting them.

They reached the holding cells at last. The guard escorting them spoke to another and he opened the door to allow them in. "You my look around. If you see one you like, we shall separate them for you so you may inspect their quality." He bowed slightly, and Serra nodded in understanding.

Serra walked through the doorway and into dimmer settings. It took but a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Behind her, she heard a sharp intake of breath from Lyrii. The meaning behind Scientel's offer was becoming clearer.

Beyond them was a stairwell that led into a pit. Giant metal cages lined the pit in neat rows with aisles to walk between. Stuffed into those cages, moaning, weeping, and whispering were slaves. They were huddled in the cages, some in groups and others clinging alone to the walls of the cages. Other guards walked along the aisles occasionally jeering at the slaves and enjoying their fear. They looked hungry and broken as well as afraid.

Serra wasn't much bothered by the scene before her but she knew that Lyrii was. She walked down the stone steps to the pit. After a moment, Lyrii followed.

Serra would admit that this was very clever of Scientel. Lyrii could barely hold her temper when they talked of how righteous slavery was, how would she react to this? More likely than not she _would_ react and then, in order to preserve the claim that the Confederacy meant no harm, Serra would have to discipline Lyrii.

As far as the Zygerrians could tell, Lyrii was her handmaiden – a servant whom she was the master was. She would need to do it by Zygerrian means and the punishment for such treason as disobeying the master was harsh indeed. Serra could not dismiss Lyrii to _Dark Starr_ either, not without appearing as if she were giving into the Zygerrians. She had to appear strong. Well Lyrii, you better hold your temper this time.

Lyrii wasn't even looking in Serra's direction and missed the warning look her friend gave her. She was looking at the cages and remembering when she had been in a cage like this. Then, Lyrii had been a child only six years old.

The Zygerrians had been separated her from her family and she had been huddled in a corner, crying quietly. Eventually, she had run out of tears. She had used the Force unintentionally so everyone left her alone. She had sat there in the rags of the clothes she had been wearing when the Zygeriran slavers had attacked her village and kept quiet. That and her young age had helped her get through processing quickly and she had been in a cage like this for sale before long.

There were no children in these cages. These were trained to be handmaidens. Most were Twi'Lek's dressed in a few scraps of clothing or females of other races. Serra began to walk calmly down the aisles. Those within the cages flinched away from her, scared without quite knowing why. A Sith lord in training had that effect on civilians.

Lyrii followed on instinct, not watching what Serra was doing as she remembered the day she had left this horrid place. She had been in the corner of the cage when the door had opened. It was too early for feeding and Lyrii instantly thought about the guards who would come from time to time and take one of the slaves or put one in. There had been a quiet set of footsteps with the heavy thud of the guard's boots so Lyrii had assumed that a new slave was being added.

Then, a hand had touched her arm. Lyrii had raised her head slightly. It was a woman's hand, clean with neatly trimmed fingernails. "Well," a voice had said, "I do believe you're what I'm looking for, little one. I can feel you're power. You have the Force at your fingertips, just as Serra does."

Lyrii had raised her head further to see a beautiful woman with long golden-blonde hair tied back in a loose braid and eyes as soft as a blue lily. "Who-who are you?" She had asked, "You're not a slave."

"No," the woman had agreed, "I am Heather Winters and your new master."

"What is your name?" Serra asked, jolting Lyrii from the memory.

Lyrii looked up. Serra was speaking to a Twi'Lek woman with very dark blue skin. The woman didn't respond.

"Come now," Serra coaxed. "You must have a name."

"Slaves are supposed to forget their name," the Twi'Lek whispered, not daring to raise her eyes from the floor.

"What am I supposed to call you then?" Serra crossed her arms, "slave? That seems a little generic to me."

One of the Zygerrian guards growled when the slave didn't respond. He slammed the butt of his deactivated shock whip against the cage bars. "Answer her slave!"

Serra glared at the guard without turning her head. She flicked the fingers of a hand and the guard was thrown back a step, dropping the shock whip. He gasped in shock of the sudden jolt and looked up at Serra.

Without looking worried, Serra levitated his shock whip up off of the ground so it was in front of him. "I think I can handle one slave," she told the guard.

After a moment, the guard took it, thumb on the activator switch. Serra rested a hand on her lightfoil and the guard backed down. Lyrii smiled. Her friend was appearing strong without looking childish, perfect to gain respect from the Zygerrians.

The Twi'Lek whispered something, too quiet to be properly heard.

She glanced at the cage. "Say again," Serra offered.

"Arali'Vi," the Twi'Lek repeated.

Serra raised a hand and used the Force to nudge the Arali'Vi's head up to eye level. Had Arali'Vi been able to use the Force then Serra would have sensed it, but the slave could not. That was good. There was fear in the Twi'Lek's eyes. That was better. "She'll do."

She stepped back so the guard she had just Force-pushed could unlock the cage door. Lyrii winced at the too familiar noise. The last time she had heard that was when Heather Winters had taken her away from this place. Now, Serra was granting the same mercy to another and putting the guards in their place.

The guard dragged Arali'Vi out of the cage. His shock whip was active just in case any of the other slaves tried anything. They had backed up however and did not move towards the door. Serra walked around the Twi'Lek girl, examining her. She did not care about how fine of stock she came from, she was merely putting on a show as the Zygerrians expected.

"She will do indeed," Serra nodded.

A guard grabbed the slave to be escorted away. Lyrii knew what would happen next. Arali'Vi would be placed in a holding facility similar to the one she was now in. Like the other slaves in there she would get her own small cage and await final payment before being escorted to her new master's ship.

The guard Serra had attacked was in no fit mood. He looked over at Lyrii. He had heard Scientel say that this one was one of their former slaves. "Stop staring slave," he snapped at her.

Lyrii slowly raised her eyes form the slaves in the cage. He did not just call her what she thought he did. "Or what fool?" Lyrii asked. "I'm not a slave."

Serra hadn't noticed the standoff. She was speaking to another guard as Arali'Vi was being taken away, inquiring about what steps to take to finalize the purchase. The guard was telling her to head to the guild and they would get the paperwork to sign to give her ownership.

The guard placed his hand on the shockwhip and Lyrii unclipped her left lightsaber and held it in her hand in plain view. It was a clear challenge. "I think you'll find that I'm not qualified to be a slave anymore."

Serra was drawn from her conversation with the guard at the hiss of a shock whip uncoiling and activating. Lyrii didn't bother to ignite her lightsaber. She just snapped out a hand and slammed the guard against the cage door, lifting him off the floor. The hit was hard enough that his helmet was knocked off.

"Lyrii," Serra snapped over the noise of the guard gasping for breath as he tried to breathe through her Force Choke. "Drop him."

Lyrii drew her lips from her teeth, revealing canines that had been sharpened through exposure to the Dark Side. The other guards were staring in shock. Zygerrians did not use the Force and they didn't know what to make of Lyrii's attack.

"Now," Serra growled.

Lyrii relaxed her hand and the guard dropped to the ground to land in a heap, coughing. One of his fellow guard knelt to help him up.

Serra flicked her fingers and suddenly Lyrii was suddenly thrown backwards down the hallway. She crashed to the ground on her back, head ringing. Stunned, Lyrii braced herself up on one arm and looked at Serra in shock. She just… attacked me.

"I said to drop him, you do not disobey me," Serra growled.

Lryii pushed herself into a crouch and held out a hand. Her lightsaber flew back to her hand and she clipped it onto her belt as she stood. She watched Serra warily in case she attacked again.

"You will attend me to finishing up the slave's paperwork and then you will escort her to the ship and stay there," Serra growled. "I will return to speak to the queen by myself."

Lyrii bowed out of the instinct, defaulting to the processing that she had been through.

Serra whipped around, her cloak ruffling from the movement and stalked out of the holding pit. Lyrii mutely followed.

Once they were out of earshot of the guards and walking along the streets, Serra tugged Lyrii into a side street and confronted her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Me?" Lyrii demanded, "You threw me across the room!"

"I had to," Serra snapped. "Don't you understand that we're not just customers Lyrii? Dooku wants Zygerria to join the Confederacy and since I'm his apprentice I represent him and the entire Confederacy while I'm here. You're my friend Lyrii and under my command. Everything you do reflects on me and those we both serve."

Lyrii hesitated and looked down.

"Dooku does not mind having me as an apprentice but you know that he wasn't eager for you to be here. There are only supposed to be two Sith, a master and an apprentice. You make three. He's only tolerating you as it is." Serra shook her head, "and your outburst with the queen makes things bad for you as well as me."

"You make it sound like you gave Dooku a choice," Lyrii muttered. She took a breath and slowed her heartbeat. That was exactly why Lyrii was usually why the calm one, her past as a slave made her quieter and less temperamental and her position was a precarious one.

"My sorcery bloodied Dooku's arm," Serra dismissed. "It would not have stopped him. He took you with me so he would not lose my loyalty."

"I should not have argued with the queen, you are right, but that guard had it coming," Lyrii swung a hand in the air in frustration, solidly connecting with one of the walls. There was a pause before she added so quietly that Serra barely heard her say, "He called me a slave."

Serra sighed. She set a hand on Lyrii's shoulder. "I don't think he'll be quick to repeat the mistake. You're no slave, not anymore."

"No," Lyrii agreed, "but as far as the Zygerrians are concerned I'm under your command. My actions made it look like you couldn't control me. That could be seen as a sign of weakness and appearing weak can lead to enslavement. You had to assert your authority to appear strong. That's why you threw me."

Serra smiled and nodded. If Lyrii was able to read her and see the reasoning behind her actions then she would be fine. "If you think you are up to it, then we should split up. The guild office is not that far away. I'll go there and finish up the paperwork for the Twi'Lek. You head to the holding area. By the time you get there, I should be done and you'll be clear to pick her up. Head back to _Starr Hunter_ with her."

"Then you'll meet up so we can leave?" Lyrii muttered.

"You forgot, Scientel wants to see me before we leave," Serra shook her head. "That should be fun. While you're taking the Twi'Lek back to the ship, I'll say goodbye to Scientel myself. When I'm done I'll head to _Dark Starr_. It should only be an hour's worth of delay or so."

Lyrii saw four pluses to Serra's plan. First, the slaves in the holding cells would have already been bought so they would be fed and there would be no sick ones. It should be easier for Lyrii to stay calm. Two, with them split up Lyrii would not have to see Scientel again. Three, this would cut the amount of time they would have to stay on this place in half. Four, it showed that Serra was willing to trust her to behave herself around the guards. The only risk was that Lyrii couldn't.

"Fine," Lyrii muttered.

Serra gave her a measured look.

"I said fine, I'll behave myself," Lyrii repeated. "What?"

"Before we left the ship, you were worried about me getting into trouble," Serra was starting to smile.

Lyrii fixed her with a glare and Serra gave a small laugh. Normally, Serra _was_ the one getting into trouble and Lyrii was the one who had to rescue her.

"Just go," Lyrii huffed.

"As you wish," Serra bowed with a flourishing sweep of a hand. Then she walked back out of the alleyway.

Lyrii shook her head and watched Serra walk off. It would be a few minutes before she followed as she leaned against a wall and took deep breathe. She used a Jedi trick Serra had taught her to balance herself and soothe her emotions. It was only when she was stable did she pull up the hood of her cloak and leave the shadows.

* * *

Cad Bane moved his binoculars as he looked for his target. There she was. Serra had just walked into view and Bane got a clear look at her before she pulled the hood up. He kept his sight on her. Her ship, _Dark Starr_ , was in the space port and Serra was walking in the opposite direction.

Bane knew that she would have to return to her ship sooner or later, but he was also certain of where she was going and raised his binoculars to the Guild headquarters. It was too close to confront her but maybe when she went back to her ship afterwards. Hm…

Because of Serra's cloak, he couldn't see what sort of weapons she wore. Other than the lightsaber and the Force –both of which were givens – he didn't know what she had.

The best thing to do was an ambush. Bane lowered his binoculars and left his perch to head to a spot to trap her. He didn't notice Lyrii as she started walking in to the holding pens for the bought slaves.

* * *

 **Serra doesn't even realize Bane's tracking. You'd think that she would, but she doesn't think that there's anything that can pose a threat to her after defeating Kenobi she's sure of herself. Moron...**

 **Lyrii isn't doing too well either. Her history is really coming back to bite her here, and Scientel is having too much fun with it. It's lucky for her that Serra's around to keep her in line.**


	4. Bane of a Bounty

Serra unclipped her communicator from her side and clicked it on. After a moment, Lyrii answered and an image of her appeared. She spoke before Lyrii did. "All right, I'm done, get the Twi'Lek and head back to the ship. I'll say goodbye to Scintel and meet back up with you."

"The quicker the better," Lyrii muttered.

"Don't do anything all right?" Serra asked.

"Yes, my lord," Lyrii replied sarcastically. Serra glared at her and Lyrii deactivated the communicator on her end.

Serra looked at it and then shook her head before clipping it back onto her belt. She was standing just outside the Slave Guild's office in the cool shadow of the building. With a sigh at Lyrii's new temperament, she started walking down the street after she pulled her cloak close.

A slight tug on the Force cooled the air around her body so that she did not overheat despite the blistering sun of Zygerria beating down on her. The technique made her clothes and hair ruffle as if in her own personal breeze in the otherwise still air. It drew a few curious looks from the passerby, but Serra supposed that they might as well get used to the fact that there were powers beyond their comprehension. Zygerria

The last time she had been to Zygerria, she had never left her mother's ship. She had stayed in her room, practicing deflecting shots from a little hovering training orb with her lightsaber. When her mother had returned, Lyrii had been in tow dressed in a slave's garb.

Serra had been entranced by the little scrap of a thing following her mother, and she had been able to sense the Force wafting about her form. It had taken two days before he had even been able to coax the tiny thing's name from her: Lyrii.

Heather Winters had been a Jedi Padawan until she had realized that the Republic needed to be brought down. Then she had forsaken the Jedi Order and struck back at those that she had once walked side by side. She had hunted down Jedi and took the lightsabers of who fell to her as proof of her kill.

Serra, like her mother, had a gift with the Force. Unsure how to train her, Heather had repeated the lessons she had learned at the Jedi Order. She told Serra all about the ways of the Force and although Serra knew the Jedi Code, she didn't believe in it anymore then her mother had.

Early on, Serra had found the collection of lightsabers that her mother had taken from Jedi she had killed. Her mother had sat her down and told her all about the corrupt Republic and the blind Jedi that served it. That night, her mother mentioned that her father had had a green lightsaber.

Did that mean he was a Jedi? Had he survived the rigors of the Clone Wars? Was he a member of the very Jedi order she had sworn to her master Dooku to destroy?

Serra had never met her father. Although she sometimes asked her mother about who her father was, Heather Winters always shrugged off the question. Occasionally, her mother would let slip a detail of her past with her father or how Serra looked like him, but those were slim.

Many nights Serra would sit in front of a small mirror and hold it between her hands to try to pick out which of her features belonged to her father. From that, she thought she might be able to create a picture of what he might look like. She had never been able to make a coherent image.

If my father is a Jedi that has survived the Clone Wars so far, then he had best not meet me. Those that use the light side are weaklings. The Jedi believe that only the weak use the Dark Side and they were right. Only those that were weak fell to the Dark Side and became consumed by it, controlled by it. It took strength to not meet that fate and Serra would give the Jedi credit for being strong enough to resist that fate and use the Light Side.

They however, believed that everyone who used the Dark Side became corrupted by it. That was wrong. A rare few could use the Dark Side and not be controlled by that. Those were the true Force users. They were not the weaklings who became slaves to the Dark Side and not pacifists that went around that by using something as shallow as the Light Side.

The Sith were the true masters of the Force. They used the true power of the Force and they controlled it. Serra and her master Dooku were the true Lords.

In the end, the Confederacy of Independent Systems would win, and that was because they had the Sith's help. The Sith would defeat the Jedi and destroy the Republic. Serra was glad that she could be a part of that and a part of the future that would come after the Clone Wars were won.

Lyrii would be a part of that to, no matter how much Dooku disliked her. Lyrii was like a sister to her, and with her mother murdered and her father unknown, her only family. It doesn't matter what he says, Lyrii is not a hindrance. Her strength in lightsaber duels matches my skill with the Force. Together, we make a perfect team.

Overhead, the shadow of a Brezak fell across her briefly. She ignored it as she looked ahead.

By now, Serra was in sight of the auction arena where Scintel was present for a sale. About ten more minute of walking and then she would be there. She'd say goodbye and then return to her base on Lothal to drop off the slave to babysit Roo Roo Page. Then it was onto battle to help make the Sith's goal, her mother's dream, and the ideals that Serra had been raised on – a future without Jedi – possible.

A mournful wail drew Serra's eyes upward where the Brezak had halted its flight. It seemed to be growing larger and after a moment, Serra realized that it was because it was falling. The giant gliding lizard crashed against the buildings as it slammed into the street.

Serra stopped walking and looked at the lizard in surprise. Brezaks were very agile fliers and she found it unlikely that one would fall. The Brezak was alive, Serra could sense, but there was no flicker of its rider's lifeforce. How unfortunate for him, but it was of no concern to her.

Something felt off about the Brezak's fall, but Serra brushed the feeling aside. If there was trouble then she could handle it just like she had Kenobi. So confident in her abilities, she ducked into an alleyway that adjoined to the main road. Luckily, she had taken the precaution of memorizing Zygerria's alleys. It would be easy to walk through them.

The Force rippled warningly and Serra paused at the same time a voice behind her called out "hello little lady."

Serra knew that voice and knew that she had been foolish to brush off the Force's earlier warning. "It's Cad Bane, isn't it?" She asked without turning around. A bounty hunter… the Republic's bounty…

Serra turned around slowly, palming her lightfoil as she did. Cad Bane's red eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the alley, half-hidden by his wide-brimmed hat that had become something of a signature look. She wasn't scared. If she could defeat the Great General Kenobi then one lone bounty hunter shouldn't be a problem.

She took quick stock of Bane within a second. He had two blaster on his sides, gauntlets on both arms, and a heavy coat that hid the rest of his gear from sight. That didn't bother her much. "Shooting down the Brezak was clever. It got me to leave the main street and come into the alleyways where there are fewer eyes. The accident will also draw nearby people to the scene, leaving the area around the Brezak that much emptier."

"Clever little thing aren't you?" Bane smiled. "I'd expect no less from Heather's daughter. Unfortunately, I have a bounty to fulfill."

"You think a lonely bounty hunter can defeat a force-wielder as strong as me?" Serra smiled mockingly in amusement.

"You're not the first Padawan I've hunted," Bane shrugged.

Serra's eyes darkened at being compared not only to a learner but to a Jedi. She hated being called weak as much as Lyrii hated enslavement. She was not weak, any more than Lyrii was a slave.

Serra held out a hand and wrenched Bane upwards into the air with a Force Choke, hissing softly, "I am not weak."

Bane gasped for breath as his fingers raked his throat as if to tear off her hand. She smiled. The bounty hunter had made a huge mistake trying to claim her as his acquisition.

Bane unexpectedly stopped choking, dropped his hands form his throat, and drew both of his blasters. Serra's eyes widened and she barely had time to ignite her lightfoil before he started shooting. They had silencers on them to keep attention from being drawn to the alley.

Serra released her hold on Bane and jumped back. Her lightfoil danced as she parried shots. This was one difficulty with her lightfoil; the smaller blade meant that there was less surface area for her to deflect shots with.

Bane kicked on his rocket boots so he could hover in the air. He was shooting quickly enough that Serra was struggling to deflect all of the shots that were a threat to her and wasn't able to deflect any back. This was her inexperience coming into play just as Bane knew it would. Even better, she was stepping back – right into his trap.

One shot came perilously close to raking Serra's cheek but she managed to dodge it. Focus! Remember your training! If you can't deal with one stupid bounty hunter how can you deal with a platoon of Clone soldiers? How can you call yourself a Sith you weakling?!

As Serra's rage grew, the power of the Dark Side was fanned. It was the same as when she had tackled Kenobi. Her anger then had grown at the sheer stupidity of the Jedi. Kenobi had no idea that she was a Sith until she had revealed it. How could the Order be that stupid have so much power? How could one of them have killed her mother? Now this bounty hunter that had worked with her mother had the gall to attack her? She would put him in his place.

The Force pulsed around her and she held her lightsaber perpendicular from her body, close to her chest. Her eyes of gold and crimson darkened to black and she snapped out her empty hand.

The multitude of blaster bolts froze in midair. She smiled and then flicked her fingers so they went right back at Bane – the same spell she had used to kill the Clone Jake. It was Bane's turn to be surprised. He knew that the Sith did not play by Jedi rules so he supposed he was only partially surprised as he turned off his boots and dropped to the ground.

He shot out a hand and his cable launcher activated. It wrapped itself around Serra's wrist with her lightfoil in it. With a smirk he jerked his arm and dragged Serra forward a step. Bane twisted his wrist and Serra's own snapped. Her lightfoil was flung from her hand and skittered across the alleyway floor.

Serra cringed at the spike of pain that shot up her arm. Her eyesight flickered. She was not use to pain, but pain was another emotion and unlike Jedi, Sith harnessed their emotion. Using her free hand she drew her blaster and shot. It neatly severed the cable. Bane, who had been putting his weight behind the cable, stumbled back a step.

Bane growled to himself as Serra stepped forward. She needed to go backwards not forward. He could tell that she didn't understand why her Force Choke had failed. Deciding that a distraction was in order, Bane tapped on the cybernetic tubes that were connected from his cheeks to his windpipe. "I'm afraid that little trick won't work little lady."

That's why I couldn't strangle him with my Force Choke, Serra growled. He's found a loophole.

"You see," Bane took a step forward, hoping in vain that it would cause Serra to step back. "I've been hunting Jedi longer than your mother and I know how to deal with your kind."

"My kind," Serra whispered. " _I,_ am no Jedi!" The slight ruffle of her clothes increased as she raised a hand. All of the detritus in the alleyway trembled and rose as her anger grew and her power waxed.

Bane barely had time to duck as she flung her hand forward and all of the items flew his way. He shot at a few but a trashcan hit him and knocked him clean off his feet. One of his blasters skid away and he tumbled as crashed to the ground.

Serra started to walk forward and she held out a hand for her lightfoil to return, but Bane wasn't done yet. He shot his other blaster and hit the lightfoil squarely. It didn't damage it, but it sent it out of her reach.

"Blast!" Serra swore.

Bane drew a hidden blaster and started shooting again.

Serra needed a moment to think. She couldn't use her lightfoil, but maybe she could use more of her spells. The spell she used that distorted the Force to the Dark Side was useless against someone who didn't use the Force. What about one of the more powerful spells she knew? No, she didn't have the training, it would only recoil.

She pooled the Force and jumped backwards further into the alley.

I've got you! Ban thought victoriously as Serra took a half-step back and her foot broke the laser beam.

The girl sensed the attack but didn't turn quite quick enough as the stun net launched automatically. The net slammed her against one of the alley's walls. She struggled as electrical current raced through her system and gasped. Soon enough, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground. Her blaster slipped from her limp fingers.

Bane remained in a battle stance for a few seconds longer and when his target didn't stir, lowered his blasters. She'd put up a challenge just as he'd expected but he felt… disappointed. The girl had been as easy as a Jedi to bring down and just as arrogant in her superiority.

He holstered his blasters and picked up the girl's lasersword. Curious, he activated it and the red blade sprang to life.

"Hm," he said to himself quietly. "Not too often I collect one that's this color."

Bane deactivated it and clipped it onto his belt as he took out a set of restrainer cuffs to bind his new prisoner. Now, how to contact the Republic to get the girl's bounty? Oddly enough, he realized that the Jedi would be the best ones to contact.

* * *

 **Serra does have a really good point about the Dark Side. Most who use it get driven insane, but the Sith lords can master that. Using the light side is sort of like falling back onto the weaker but safer side of the Force. They're weaklings to her, but they're smart enough not to tamper with the dark side so they're not morons.**

 **Her getting taken out by a stun net is perfectly legit. Yes she's a Sith sorceress, but she said herself she can't do any really powerful spells because Dooku has no way to train her. She has to learn on her own, and technically speaking she's the Sith equivalent of a Jedi Padawan. Ashoka got taken down by a stun net in Season 3 " _Padawan Lost_."**

 **Maybe if Serra were a little less cocky she might have better luck... * _Sigh_.***


	5. Prize

Padmé Amidala stood in front of Chancellor Papatine's desk. The Chagrian who held the Vice Chair in the Republic, Mas Amedda, was watching impassively as the Naboo Senator finished speaking and looked at the Chancellor. She had just told the Chancellor a compelling list of reasons why the new Privacy Invasion bill could not be passed.

"Senator Amidala," Palpatine said after a moment. "I understand your reluctance on this issue to-"

The communicator built into Palpatine's desk chimed that he had an incoming message. Palpatine frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone.

"One moment Senator," he told Padmé and turned on the hololink.

It was an image of Mace Windu. "Chancellor," Windu greeted.

"Ah, Master Windu," Palapatine smiled. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"We are currently receiving a transmission from Cad Bane," Windu said, speaking plainly as usual.

"Cad Bane," Padmé frowned. "The bounty hunter who blew up the East wing of the Senate building, and freed Ziro the Hutt?"

Windu turned to see Padmé, "Unfortunately Senator Amidala." He looked back at Palpatine. "Bane claims to have captured Serra Winters and he wants his reward."

Palpatine frowned. "Tie him in."

Windu bowed and his image vanished. A moment later Cad Bane's appeared. Padmé felt her disgust rise. The bounty hunter had not changed at all since she had last had the misfortune to see him.

"Chancellor," Bane greeted similarly to Windu. His tone was as smug as ever. "I have a present for you."

"Oh? And what would that be bounty hunter?" Chancellor Palpatine had not needed Amidala's reminder about Cad Bane's past deeds. He remembered being locked in well enough.

"Oh, come now Chancellor," Bane chuckled. "I heard you wanted this little wildcat and I tracked her down for you. Now I want my reward."

"You managed to capture Serra Winters," Palpatine frowned, surprised inwardly but pleased. It seemed the girl's powers were not yet strong enough to be a threat. Good. It was best to get of her before she could be dangerous. "What proof do you have of this?"

Bane chuckled and his image vanished. A moment later he returned and was standing next to an unconscious girl with her wrists bound. He knelt down and grabbed the girl by the scruff of her shirt and yanked her head up. It was indeed Serra Winters – Count Dooku's new apprentice.

"Now," Bane said as he dropped the limp girl back to the ground, "about my bounty. This wildcat wasn't easy to catch."

Amidala didn't know Serra other than the fact that she had defeated Kenobi, but it still frustrated her to see Bane treating the girl like rubbish.

"How about we make a trade," Bane offered. "The credits for the girl. Say, on the planet Tylo in 18 hours? Just make sure the credits are unmarked."

"Why would we make peace with you?" Padmé Amidala couldn't resist interrupting.

Bane turned to face Padmé. "If you don't want her little lady, I'll let her go and you can capture him on your own."

"That will not be necessary," Palpatine cut in. "We agree to your terms."

"Wise choice," Bane chuckled again and cut off the communication.

Mace Windu's image reappeared, but he didn't say anything. It was quiet for a moment and then Palpatine looked up at Padmé. "Senator, this is not a matter for you. Perhaps you should return to the Senate Wing while I speak to the Jedi about this."

Padmé frowned, "Chancellor."

"Senator," Palpatine repeated.

Padmé wasn't happy, but nodded and reluctantly walked away. Maybe she should speak to Anakin about this. Serra had been the one to take Anakin's old master prisoner after all.

* * *

Cad Bane stepped away from Serra's unconscious form and reactivated the cell's security field. He tossed the communicator on the controls and sat in the pilot's chair. It had been easy to load Serra aboard the speeder hidden in the alley after she had been rendered unconscious and transport her to his ship.

Now, he powered up his ship's engines and began take-off procedure. In ten minutes he'd be in hyperspace to Tylo to get his prize.

With Serra unconscious, there was now nothing to stop him from getting his bounty.

* * *

 **I know, this is really short. The next one is going to be really long so it will balance. Bane only wishes that he didn't have to deal with anyhting else, but he doesn't know about Lyrii.**


	6. Out of the Frying Pan

The Twi'Lek slave Arali'Vi was eating the meal pack she had been offered quickly and quietly. She was likely going to make herself sick, but it was the first time in a very long time that the slave got to eat her fill without worry of it being stolen.

Lyrii tuned out the slave as she sat on the floor of the _Dark Starr_ 's deck. She was trying to meditate, but something kept bothering her. Serra was late. That in itself was not an unusual thing, but Lyrii wanted to leave.

Serra had said one hour when in reality it would only take about 30 minutes. Yet, it had been over an hour since they had split up and there was no word from her friend.

Lyrii opened her eyes suddenly. The Force was warning her that something is wrong. She held out a hand and levitated her communicator sitting on the table to her hand. Arali'Vi watched with huge eyes, but Lyrii ignored her as she tapped on the device. There was no response from Serra. That wasn't odd either, but her feeling that something was wrong increased.

She tried the communicator again with no luck and then set the communicator to one side and focused, reaching out with the Force.

Lyrii had spent the past eight years by Serra's side, and they formed a strong Force bond not unlike the one that formed between a Jedi Knight and Padawan. Normally they could sense each other without trouble, and Serra had even been able to speak to Lyrii telepathically with her Force capabilities. Now, there was only an unanswered echo. Serra wasn't dead, Lyrii knew that much, but Serra was also not responding. Was she unconscious?

After a moment more of fidgeting, Lyrii stood and grabbed the slave's arm. Arali'Vi whimpered as Lyrii dragged her to her feet.

"Come on you," she told the slave, "get your food."

Arali'Vi snatched up her tray as Lyrii started dragging her down the common room. _Dark Starr_ was equipped with a single prison cell, albeit one without a containment field. Lyrii punched open the door and Arali'Vi stumbled inside. She turned to look at Lyrii, her blue eyes wide with fear.

"I'm going to leave for a bit," Lyrii told the Twi'Lek. "You stay in here until I return."

Arali'Vi nodded fearfully and Lyrii stepped back and closed the door. It locked automatically. Lyrii didn't take any pleasure in scaring Arali'Vi, but she had made up her mind and thought she had better move before she changed her mind.

Lyrii lowered the ramp, and quickly walked down it to the surface of Zygerria. There were slaves and customers all around. Noise echoed from footsteps, voices in a dozen languages, and ships taking off and landing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Slowly the sounds faded. Even the heat from the sun that beat down onto the hood of her black cloak vanished as she focused the Dark Side to her. Serra was the true master of the Force, but Lyrii hoped she could imitate her well enough to find her.

The flow of ebb of the life force of all of the beings within the space port made her head spin. Before the shock knocked her out, she filtered the lifesigns. All she was looking for was Serra – a human female in with an affinity for the Dark Side.

There was a roar of engines as a ship named _Xanadu Blood_ powered up. The backwash tore through what little concentration Lyrii had managed to gather apart. Lyrii cringed and sighed.

Her power lay in her blades and not in the Force. She was no threat to either Serra or Dooku, and that was one of the main reasons why Dooku tolerated Serra's obvious affection and attachment to her. Lyrii's same weakness was now jeopardizing Serra. Why couldn't Lyrii do anything useful?

Lyrii sighed, and closed her eyes. She felt the Force ruffle through her being. Serra… Serra was her friend, and Lyrii was such a weakling! How Serra could even stand to be around her was a mystery. I am such a letdown! There has to be something I can do!

When Heather Winters had been killed, Lyrii had been even more worthless then Serra. Serra had been able to fight free after Heather died and kill both the Jedi responsible for her slaughter, and two more all by herself.

Lyrii hadn't even woken up on her own. Serra had needed to rouse her. _When Lyrii had opened her eyes the three Jedi were dead, and there was a man there she had never seen before._

 _"Serra," Lyrii asked once Serra had told her about the attack. "Who is that?"_

 _He was an older man with white hair and beard. A curved lightsaber was clipped onto his side, half-hidden by the silver-clasped cloak. The Force echoed in a way that Lyrii had never felt before._

 _"That is Count Dooku," Serra whispered._

 _She held out a hand and helped pull Lyrii to her feet. Dooku was overlooking the slain Jedi, and he glanced at Lyrii._

 _"Who is this?" Dooku asked. "She is not as strong as you."_

 _"Not in the Force," Serra agreed, "but she beats me every time we spar."_

 _"Leave her," Dooku dismissed. "I need only one apprentice. That is the way of the Sith."_

 _"Sith?" Lyrii blinked._

 _Serra nodded. "They're the enemies of the Jedi. Dooku says I can be his apprentice, and become the next Sith Lord. I'll get to kill plenty of Jedi. If I'm lucky maybe I'll wipe them out."_

 _Lyrii nodded distantly, and Serra looked back up at Dooku._

 _"Why would I leave Lyrii?" Serra asked sharply. "She's my sister, or close enough to it. Mother's dead, so she's the only family now unless you happen to know who my father is."_

 _"I do not," Dooku replied with little patience. "Attachment is a weakness. Your mother was a Jedi. Surely she taught you that."_

 _"Former Jedi," Serra corrected sharply, insulted that he had just called her mother a Jedi. "Heather went rouge. How do you know about her, unless you used to be a Jedi to?"_

 _Her smug attitude was a very dangerous one to have. Lyrii didn't like the aura surrounding Dooku. Before Lyrii could so much as open her lips to speak, Dooku had his lightsaber in his hand. It activated with a snap-hiss, and a crimson blade slid out to rest near Serra's cheek._

 _Serra did not flinch._

 _"You do not scare easily at least," Dooku mused. His lightsaber made a whoosh noise as he twirled it and pointed at Lyrii. "We leave now apprentice."_

 _"Not without Lyrii," Serra warned._

 _Serra's aura was dangerous. It glowed with the same darkness as Dooku's. Dooku spun his blade as if to strike at Lyrii, and Serra darted between the two of them. Her aura spiked as hot and deadly as a wildfire._

 _Dooku made a move to flick his lightsaber aside before he struck Serra, but Serra didn't let him. She swatted aside the lightsaber with the back of her hand. Somehow, impossibly, it did not cut through her hand. There was not even a burn mark._

 _Serra raked a hand through the air as if clawing the face of an opponent, and Dooku unexpectedly almost dropped his lightsaber. Although she had done nothing but claw the air, blood now stained Serra's fingernails. Dooku looked down at his right hand that held his lightsaber. The sleeve was somehow, impossibly, torn and there were scratches on his wrist and the back of his hand that bled._

 _"I said," Serra repeated, "not without Lyrii."_

Serra had always protected Lyrii, and in the end Dooku had realized that her natural affinity for the Dark Side was worth temporarily tolerating Lyrii. There had not been a true Sith Sorcerer in 7oo years, and Serra had just used sorcery twice. Dooku brought them back to his base on Sorreno, and Serra had thrived under his teaching as she never had with her mother.

Serra, Lyrii thought. You saved me from Dooku, from the Jedi that killed your mother, and from the slave markets of Zyggeria. It's about time that I returned the favor.

Her anger and resolve cleared her mind. She took a deep breath and everything around her faded. The words of people were being whispered to her mind by the Force, and suddenly she heard something very interesting.

 _"A million credits, your worth as much as a Jedi girl."_

Lyrii opened her eyes. A girl worth a million credits? That was how much the bounty on Serra was! Her attention went up to the ship named _Xanadu Blood_ that was about to leave, and she felt a presence aboard the craft that could only be generated by a Dark Side user. It was dim, and suppressed somehow, but it was there.

"Got you," Lyrii smiled and unclipped her cloak.

She took both of her lightsabers off her belt as her cloak fluttered to the ground and activated them. The honey-gold blades gave twin snap-hisses as they appeared, and Lyrii ignored the scene she made as everyone near her jumped back. Without hesitation, Lyrii force-jumped onto the top of Serra's ship and ran across its surface. _Xanadu Blood_ was about to hit its engines and take off through the atmosphere.

"Not gonna happen," Lyrii promised whoever was flying the ship and she threw both of her lightsabers.

The lightsaber throw was one of Lyrii's favorite moves, and considered one of the most dangerous. Not only did it take years to master, but throwing your weapon away from you and hoping that someone wouldn't steal it was a risk most wouldn't willing to take. Certainly, it would never been done in a fight against a fellow Force-user where your opponent force-pull your lightsaber straight to their hand, but Lyrii knew there was no chance of that here.

Her lightsabers sliced through the left engine of the Xanadu Blood and Lyrii held out her hands. They flew through the air and both hilts landed squarely back in her palms. This was more fun than sniping from afar she admitted as the _Xanadu Blood_ went into a flat spin and crashed onto an empty landing pad. It slid across the pad, and came to a stop.

Lyrii's lightsabers trailed behind her as she ran and jumped off of Dark Starr and onto another ship. She jumped from one ship to another until she reached _Xanadu Blood_ 's crash site. A figure in a black longcoat stumbled out of the cockpit. He drew two blaster pistols, features hidden by a wide-brimmed hat.

"Cad Bane," Lyrii hissed when she saw him.

Of course he was involved with Serra's kidnapping. Lyrii jumped off of the ship she was running on, and landed in front of him, lightsabers in front of her. Their gold light echoed the gold of her eyes, and she fell into fighting stance.

Bane stepped back and pointed his blaster at her. "A Jedi? What's a Jedi doing here?"

"Jedi?" Lyrii recoiled. "Now calling me that is insulting."

Bane's large red eyes stared, confused.

"Ah," he said after a second. "You must be a friend of my target."

"That's one way to put it," Lyrii promised and ran at him.

Bane fired his blaster pistols, and red bolts flew through the air. Lyrii dodged most of them, and deflected a few away with one of her sabers. One of the bolts flew back and knocked a pistol from Bane's hand. He flinched as his hand was skimmed by the bolt, and tapped on his gauntlet. His rocket boots activated, and propelled him into the air.

Lyrii smiled, and jumped past him through the shattered glass cockpit and into his ship. Bane was left flying there, surprised that his opponent had ignored him. Then he realized what she was doing and jumped back inside the ship as well. That girl was going to free his prize!

Lyrii followed both her senses, and the blueprints of this class of starship to find the brig. There had obviously been some sort of ray shield guarding the door, but it had turned off when the ship had crashed. Inside the deactivated cell Lyrii saw Serra lying on the floor.

Relived, Lyrii ducked inside the cell and deactivated one of her lightsabers. She clipped the deactivated one onto her belt and knelt by Serra's side. Serra had a stable pulse, but was unconscious. Lyrii sliced through the stun cuffs binding her wrists with her free lightsaber and put a hand on Serra's chest. Hopefully, Lyrii could dose Serra with some of her energy and shock her back awake as Serra had done to her before.

There was a click, and Lyrii looked up as the gold ray shield guarding the door suddenly activated, trapping her inside. Lyrii threw her active lightsaber at the ray shield, but her saber bounced off, and deactivated. The hilt fell to them ground near her feet. They were trapped!

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Bane walked up outside of the rayshield. He still had his left arm gauntlet raised, and lowered it triumphantly.

"Looks like you're as gullible as your friend there, little lady," Bane told Lyrii smugly.

Lyrii clenched her teeth when she realized she had been played. Bane had used the controls on his gauntlet to purposefully deactivate the cell, knowing Lyrii would enter to retrieve Serra. Once she had entered, he simply reactivated it. How could she be stupid enough to fall for something as simple as that?

"Now," Bane said with a flourishing bow. "I need to see how much damage you did to my ship. I've got a rendezvous to make with the Republic, and a bounty to collect."

Bane smiled to himself as he walked away and left the Sith in the cell. He'd need to contact the Republic as well. Now that he had two Sith he was sure that the Republic would be gracious enough to double the reward.

Lyrii clipped her second lightsaber back onto her belt and looked up at the ceiling. Bane had played her like a youngling, how embarrassing. She stared at the gold ray shield with a grimace.

Beside her, Serra stirred and opened her gold/crimson eyes.

She saw Lyrii and smiled, murmuring, "morning."

"Not a pleasant one," Lyrii sighed and pointed to the ray shield.

Serra turned her head towards the door and replied, "Oh. That could be a problem."

Lyrii stood up and helped pull Serra to her feet. Giving Serra a dose of Lyrii's power had thankfully awakened her, but it still didn't change much. They were still caught.

* * *

 **And here is problem number two. Despite their ability they are the equivalent of young padawans, sort of like Ashoka in the first two seasons before she gets her redo. Capturing Kenobi was actually their first time on a battlefield, so they're kinda naive and new to this.**

 **Get the chapter name now? Now Lyrii isn't around to try and rescue Serra. They're both in the cell. Oops. Bane might be a bounty hunter but it is a bad idea to underestimate him and that is something both of them are having to learn the hard way.**


	7. And Into the Fire

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p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bane's footsteps had receded by the time Serra was fully conscious, and Lyrii had explained her blunder to her. Serra wasn't upset at Lyrii for being tricked, and turned to face the ray-shield door of the cell both of them were now in./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii saw how Serra was staring analytically at the door, and spoke hopefully after a few seconds. "Do you have an idea how to get out of here? I know you've been placed in cells many times."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra slowly shifted her eyes to Lyrii and gave a small tsk. "It's not my fault Dooku doesn't have a sense of humor. As for this cell, I have a few ideas. I should make it quick though. How much damage did you do to the ship to crash it?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""The left engine," Lyrii recalled, "but I knew I couldn't blow up the ship with you on it so I didn't do much. He might be able to restart it."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Then I'd better hurry," Serra sighed. "Bane took my gear. Can I borrow your lightsabers?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii instantly held our both hilts and Serra took them. She thumbed the activator switch on them, but nothing happened. Serra made a noise of surprise and tried them again./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""What in the?" Serra frowned. "Lyrii, did you damage them when you took out the engine?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""No," Lyrii shook her head. "They should work fine. I threw one at the rayshield on the door, but there's no reason the other one wouldn't work."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra tried to activate Lyrii's lightsabers again and then shook her head with a sigh, "no good. Those stun cuffs I was wearing prevented me from using the Force easily. That's why I didn't wake up before you came. Most of Bane's gear seems designed to counter Force-Sensitives so I'm not all too surprised that he's discovered a way to keep our lightsabers from activating."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii took the lightsabers back and clipped them on her sides while Serra pondered how to lower the rayshield. If she could, then it was likely Lyrii's lightsabers would work again. Serra walked over to the door and looked through the rayshield to the control panel that monitored the rayshield. She raised one of her hands and focused on the control panel./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"After a few seconds of struggling, she lowered her hand and banged her head against the wall of the cell. "That won't work either. The rayshield's distorting my connection to the Force. I can't bring it into focus enough to remotely use the panel and deactivate it. What is with this Bane guy?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""What about one of your spells?" Lyrii asked cautiously./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra raised her head from the wall. "I could try doing my area clear spell, but with my control will slip like usual and it'll just recoil. As long as I can do enough damage on the cell though, I suppose it's worth it. All right, better back up."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii took Serra's warning to heart and crept as far back against the cell as she could go. There was probably an easier way to get out of the cell, but she didn't know what it was. Serra closed her eyes and started whispering rapidly, speaking sounds that sounded more like runic designs then actually words. The language of the Dark Side made Lyrii's skin tingle as Serra built up her power./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"When a Force-User was going to engage in combat of any sort, they instinctively created a shield of Force energy around them. This meant that their opponent wouldn't be able to use the Force to tear the lightsaber from their hand or toss them down the hall. An opponent who was strong enough could tear through their enemy's shield, but it usually worked well. Your lightsaber was activated you raised your shield, that was what Lyrii and every other Force-User had been taught./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii raised her shield now as well as he could with her connection to the Force distorted, wary of Serra's spell. She knew this spell, and that Serra would be able to cast it successfully. What she feared was the recoil after it was cast that would knock Serra out for several hours./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Even with her shield up, Lyrii was worried about how much damage she would take. She would have to deal with Bane once she got out of the cell, and even though Cad Bane was a mundane who could not use the Force he was not a weak opponent. Defeating him was going to be Lyrii's greatest challenge once the rayshield came down./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"The wind ruffled her hair as a breeze was created and the shadows draped themselves around Serra like a multi-layered cloak. Serra opened her eyes suddenly. Her irises were now pure with a golden sun-like corona around it, and her pupils were slits like a snake. The whites of her eyes were now black./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"She threw her hand out and a shockwave of energy jumped from her fingers and threw itself towards the door. There was a spectacular sound of tearing metal as her attack eviscerated the entire wall to a degree that the entire ship tilted upwards a few degrees. Her attack seemed to reflect off the wall, and Serra was thrown back as it crashed into her and slammed against the wall hard./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Her shirt was torn and burnmarks decorated her chest as she fell to the ground loudly, already unconscious. Once Serra's spell stopped rippling, Lyrii ran over and knelt by her friend. Although there were burnmarks, there luckily was no severe bleeding and her heartbeat was slow but stable. Even better, when Lyrii held out one of her lightsabers the dark gold blade materialized with a snap-hiss. Serra had done it./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii heard footsteps approaching, Bane's undoubtedly, and she deactivated the lightsaber and stood beside the doorway. Like most people, when Bane's footsteps as he saw the carnage from Serra's attack he walked over to the cell slowly with his blasters in front./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bane saw Serra lying on the ground unconscious, and hesitated just outside the doorway. Then he carefully took a few steps inside, unable to see Lyrii from where she stood. His blasters appeared through the doorway before he did, and Lyrii stood perfectly still./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"When his blasters were far enough inside, Lyrii snapped out a hand and force-pushed his blasters out of his hands. Bane lightsabers went flying away towards Serra's form and he instantly turned to face the direction of the attack. Suitably disarmed now, Lyrii launched into an attack against Bane. It would take a few precious seconds for Lyrii to be able to activate her lightsabers and she doubted Bane would give her that chance, so she forewent them entirely./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii was surprised by the speed behind Bane's blows, and it dissolved into fistfighting, for she did not give Bane a chance to draw another blaster. Bane tapped one of the controls on his gauntlet and sparks flew around his palm as he grabbed one of Lyrii's arms. The jolt of electricity made Lyrii's head snap and Bane smiled./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"After a few seconds, he dropped her and Lyrii fell limp to the floor. He glanced over at his other problem, but Serra was still unconscious. Bane was glad that the Sith were so gullible and that the same trick worked twice./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Lyrii opened her eyes as Bane started walking towards Serra to retrieve his blasters, and suddenly jumped at him with both of her lightsabers activing. The movement was quick, but just as she feared the sound of her sabers activating gave her away and Bane was able to avoid her. She slid on the floor of the cell and fell into stance, between Serra and Bane./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""You won't put me down that easily bounty hunter," Lyrii warned him. "You think I wouldn't notice that you used electricity to knock Serra out when I looked her over? It was obvious you'd try the same trick again against me."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"She jumped at Bane with Force-speed, forcing the bounty hunter to turn tail./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""You won't get away mundane!" Lyrii shouted and chased after him./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra was always, emalways/em protecting Lyrii. This time Lyrii would protect Serra. She would keep her safe this time, and even if she failed to kill Bane, she would force the bounty hunter away until Serra recovered from using her spell./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"When Serra had first come back from Naboo with the little Gungan girl Roo Roo Page to Serenno, Count Dooku had been away on the war front. She had been smiling as she showed the little infant that lay slumbered in her arms to Lyrii. Lyrii liked Serra's smile even though it was warmer than a Sith's should be. If the Republic took her prisoner then Serra would lose her smile along with her life, and Lyrii refused to let that happen./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Their fight was taken outside of the damaged ship and onto the landing pad before long, but that suited Lyrii fine. She jumped to the top of emXanadu Blood/em, and then leaped off it towards Bane. Both of her dark golden lightsabers were raised over her right shoulder in a downward stroke./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bane barely managed to activate his rocket boots in time to avoid her, and her lightsabers came so close that one sliced the brim of his hat and the other the front of his jacket. Both landed on the ground though instead, and Lyrii instantly tore them free and turned to face Bane again. If she could not handle one non-Force using mundane then how could she expect to help Serra on the battlefield against the Jedi?/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bane started shooting his blasters, but Lyrii deflected them all with absolute ease. Form 3, the defensive form, was her specialty because where Serra attacked Lyrii would defend her. She couldn't do ranged attacks like Serra could, so until she could get close enough all she could do was deflect. Deflecting lightsaber bolts accurately required a certain degree of Force-control, something Lyrii didn't have much of, so she couldn't even knock one of Bane's blasters from his hand./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He seemed to realize as much and smiled, thinking that she would be easier for him to deal with then Serra had been. Bane however forgot about one thing as he kept shooting at Lyrii in the spaceport, sending customers scattering to avoid Lyrii's wildly deflected shots. Serra was still here./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Two shots knocked both of Bane's blasters from his hands, and he watched as they spun away from him. Bane withdrew another blaster only to have it go flying away as well, and he saw in horror the other Sith holding a blaster, standing on top of his ship. It was the one that he had left in her cell. Her head was lowered so he couldn't see her eyes, but the air around her form seemed darker somehow./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Do not," Serra whispered quietly, "do not underestimate the daughter of Heather Winters!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra raised her head defiantly, revealing her eyes. Her golden eyes with their red corona looked the same as always, but the white sclera was black as if she was in the middle of a spell. This time the red color of the corona did not waver like a sun, but had instead seeped into the black sclera like a set of veins./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Serra Winters shot twice more with her stolen blaster, and took out both of the rockets on Bane's boots. Without them, Bane was suddenly aware of Zyggeria's gravity and fell to the ground. He managed to land on his feet, and instantly fired the metal darts hidden in his gauntlet at Serra./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Count Dooku's Alycote blinked and the spikes stopped in midair a few feet from her face. She let them fall to the ground and then dropped Bane's blaster beside her. There was a thin metal cylinder in her other hand with a handguard near the mouth shaped like flower petals./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bane recognized it as the hilt of a lightsaber and put a hand on his belt where it should be clipped, but of course, it wasn't there. Then he remembered that after he had captured his target he had left her lightsaber on his bridge. It seemed she had found it again, and she looked really pissed off at being locked up./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"She jumped form the top of the ship down to the ground, falling slower and more delicately then an ordinary person would. With a snap-hiss, a meter long crimson blade with a black core materialized, highlighting the red in her eyes./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px;"She smiled and raised her lightfoil, pointing it at Bane. "And do not underestimate me."/p  
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p style="max-height: 999999px;"strongBane can take them down one at a time, but what about when Serra and Lyrii working together? The table might have just turned against him. Keep in mind they're also still on Zyggeria, and the Zyggerians are probably not to happy with the disturbance they're causing. This fight is probably going to dissolve from here./strong/p  
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	8. Wrath of the Sith

Lyrii lowered her lightsabers so they pointed towards the ground and took a step back as Serra Winters stood before Cad Bane, her crimson and black lightfoil ignited. She wasn't stupid enough to get involved in Serra's fight. Bane instantly had his blasters pointing at Serra.

She sensed more then heard the approach of some of Zygerrian's warriors and glanced to one side to see them drawing nigh. Serra saw them to, but she looked at them in irritation. Rather than let her lady distract herself with non-Force wielders, Lyrii raised a lightsaber in salute to Serra and then made for the intruding guards.

Serra didn't watch Lyrii run off. She seemed to have eyes only for Bane. His nerves had been frazzled by her sudden appearance. Oh, he'd recovered, but for a moment she'd tasted unease and confusion in the bounty hunter. It wasn't fear, but it was still intoxicating.

"Peace is a lie," Serra quoted. "There is only passion."

The words were spoken to herself, but loud enough for Bane to hear. This code had been drummed into her until she knew it by heart.

"Through passion I gain strength," Serra continued.

She wasn't sure passion was what she felt. Right now, she felt anger, hot molten anger that seemed to jump in time with her heart. A mundane without any connection to the Force had taken her prisoner and tried to sell her to the Republic. _She_ , who would one day become the new master of the Sith, be sold to the Jedi buffoons who let the pacifist ideals of the Light blind them.

"Through strength I gain power," Serra spoke the next line, walking calmly, slowly towards Bane.

Bane fired his blasters, but she deflected them with her lightsaber, sending them shooting into the crowd or back at Bane. One of the stray shots killed a person, and that sent up a few screams and shrieks. Fear spreads faster than hope, Dooku had told her, and it was so much more effective at swaying a crowd. Fear from her ricocheted shots began to spread and she drank in the fear, adding it to the pool of Dark Side energy she was accumulating.

She wasn't able to speak the next line before Bane pressed the attack, and the grappler cable wrapped around her wrists. Her grip on her lightfoil slipped when he yanked her forward, but she let it fall. When it hit the ground, the blade automatically retracted into the hilt. The lightfoil was an extension of the Force, but it was not her connection to it.

The fear laced the air, and Serra used just a bit of her accumulated power for a Force push. Rather than throw Bane back, a stupid idea since she was tangled in the wire attached to his gauntlet, she pushed the Force around her arms. With a tearing, ripping sound the cable around her arms tore into strips of cloth that fluttered to the ground.

Bane disconnected the wire from the gauntlet, but suddenly seemed uneager to continue. He would fall back and regroup for another attack, perhaps set another stun net, but he would not abandon his quarry. Serra knew he wouldn't, and under other conditions she might applaud his tenacity.

Right now though she reached out a hand and tightened it into a fist, catching him in a Force Choke. His feet lifted off the ground and Bane began to gag. He raised his hands to his throat as if he could remove the pressure on it, and Serra rolled her eyes. She might be young, but she was no fool. Her force choke hadn't worked on Bane in the ally and there was no reason for it to work here.

She cocked her arm and Force Threw him over her head and right into the side of his ship. He made a solid thunk as he hit it upside-down, feet pointing up. His hat fluttered to the ground. It was only after she was sure that the blow to the ship dazed him that Serra released her Force choke. The tubes connecting to his esophagus were supplying him with air, rendering a Force choke useless, and she didn't doubt there were chips in his head to make it harder to use a mind trick on him.

"Through power I gain victory," Serra smirked as she said the next line.

Bane dropped from the side of the ship to the ground, temporarily dazed. He stood almost instantly, wary but not afraid. There was no fear for Serra to exploit or draw from. Serra called the fear she had gathered to her instead. Around her, the air rippled unnaturally as if the light was trying keep away from her.

The energy shot to her fingers. Then she raised her hand towards Bane and Force Lightning leapt at him. Bane threw himself to one side, leaving the lightning to scorch his ship. He rolled as he landed and came up with a blaster in hand, firing at her. Serra repeated the same movement as earlier, using the Force to catch the blaster shots in midair and throw them back at Bane.

Bane hadn't forgotten she could do that though. Serra was surprised that he was still able to use his rocket boots to glide across the surface of the ground, mimicking Force Speed. It seemed she hadn't hit them very well. There was a guttural roar as a flamethrower built into his gauntlet spat at her. Fear was for mundanes, and Serra smiled as the attack came.

There was a type of focus called Convection that concentrated Force energy to such a raw degree that you literally caught the air on fire. Although Serra was more interested in Cryokinesis, leaching the lifeforce from an opponent, she knew the theory behind Convection. She simply put up a Force shield, slicing the flame in half so the tongue was cut in two halves that passed to either side harmlessly. Embers were spat into the air and rained down like tiny stars.

With the blaze on either side of her, she was hidden from sight. Using the cover, she drew a throwing knife normally hidden from sight and gripped it by the tip of the point. Then she threw it. A nudge from the Force pushed the fire aside and gave her dagger a clear path straight to Bane. Bane broke off his attack and dodged to one side, avoiding the poisoned dagger entirely.

"Through victory my chains are broken," Serra grinned as Bane stepped right where she thought he would.

While Bane dodged, Serra flicked her hand and recalled her lightfoil that lay abandoned on the ground behind Bane. The blade activated an instant before it struck, its snap-hiss unfortunately alerting Bane that he was about to be skewered. Instead of shishkabobing him the lightfoil's blade gouged the gauntlet as if it were hot butter, etching a deep, relatively straight line. From the way his arm buckled, Serra suspected it had cut deeply enough to tear his skin as well as his gear.

She raised her hand and the ignited lightsaber flew from Bane to her, the hilt settling comfortably in her palm. Serra curled her fingers around the hilt as Bane put a hand to his arm and looked at her.

Innocently, Serra shrugged at him and recited the last line of the Sith Code: "The Force shall free me."

Lyrii shook her head as she rolled her eyes, the Zygerrian guards lying in cut-up heaps around her. There was no blood as a lightsaber cauterized the wounds it inflicted, but it hardly hid the state of the bodies. She had warned them to stand down and not interfere, but when they had persisted on interrupting Serra's fight, Lyrii had dealt with them.

She was thrilled by Serra. Serra was not a warrior or a berserker like some Sith. She was a sorcerer, and a sorcerer could not give themselves to the blind rage of the Dark Side. They had to control the Dark Side, to feed on emotions and yet find control, balance, and a certain peace of mind. It was no coincidence that over ¾ of all Sith Sorcerers were former Jedi. Only the Jedi had the training a sorcerer needed.

Serra pinned Bane to the side of his ship again with a flick of her fingers, putting enough pressure to prevent him from moving at all. She didn't want to be ambushed by him again. Bane watched Serra with crimson orbs, startled by how different she was between here and the alley. He'd swear she was as calm as a Jedi, and showed no outward signs of anger other than the sparkles of it flickering in her irises.

Serra kept her breathing and heartbeat steady as her mother had taught her, yet let her fear and anger warm her blood and clear her mind as her master had taught her. She couldn't believe she had been so disgraced by a mundane bounty hunter. How big a fool was she? Well, she wouldn't let that happen again.

With Bane secure, Serra raised her lightfoil to his throat. There was barely half an inch between the tip of her weapon and his skin. She felt a flicker of fear in Bane, but it did not overwhelm or cripple him. He used the fear to focus, used the reality that he might die to force him to think of a way out.

"You're not going anywhere," Serra promised Bane.

It was silent around her, unreasonably so considering this was a spaceport. Despite being curious, she didn't look around. She had a feeling Bane would take advantage of her distraction to make a move.

"My name is Serra Winters," Serra reintroduced herself, "and I do not take kindly to ambushes."

If looks could kill, Serra would have been vaporized by Bane. Serra wasn't though, obviously, and weighed her next words carefully. She didn't want Bane as an enemy. She wanted Bane to stand down and for the other bounty hunters to think the better of attacking her. Hunters like her mother would take a challenge to heart and try to kill the target again. What she said next would determine Bane's future actions.

"Why did you attack me?" She asked Bane, relaxing her hold on him so he could speak comfortably.

"What?" Bane had been expecting a lot of questions from her, but that wasn't one of them.

"Why did you attack me?" Serra repeated.

"There was a bounty on you," Bane said bluntly, "and people don't have bounties, only acquisitions. You are now an acquisition."

So the bounty hunters did know she was the daughter of Heather Winters, otherwise known to her targets and employers as Serena. He was also quoting the laws of the Bounty Hunters' Code, obviously not expecting her to know it.

"I suggest you not attack me again, and that you warn the other bounty hunters to do the same," Serra informed him in a voice more cordial then she felt.

"Why shouldn't I?" Bane challenged, taking her warning as offense that he wasn't strong enough to beat her.

"Don't you want to spend your credits?" Serra asked him.

"Of course," Bane told her, wondering where she was going with this.

"Then leave me alone," Serra told him, making sure it sounded more like a suggestion instead of an order. "The higher the risk a job has the better the payoff, but NO bounty is worth is worth dying for. After all, you can't spend your credits once you're dead. My mother taught me that. You were able to blindside me once, but I'm a quick learner. Technically, the republic has a bounty on you as well Bane, and that makes you an acquisition."

"I have no feud with the bounty hunter guild and its employees. My mother was one of your best after all." Serra pointed out, and felt something shift in Bane when she said that.

"That's it, isn't it?" Serra pushed Bane. "My mother was one of the best. If she had put more effort into it, she could have ranked higher than Jango Fett. When Jango was killed at the start of the Clone War you took his place as the best. Once the Jedi were drafted into the army, they were too busy fighting to be peacekeepers, and my mother took advantage of that like the other hunters."

Now Serra was sure. The reminder that her mother had rejoined the bounty hunter guild's active list did it.

"She beat you, didn't she? You owed her but she died before you could prove you were better than her, so now you go after me because I'm her daughter." Serra knew she was right.

"She interfered with my hunt," Bane explained, the memory unpleasant. "Out code forbids that. Then, after she had my target, I challenged her."

"And she beat you in combat," Serra actually remembered her mother mentioning something about a fight with Cad Bane and she remembered what her mother had said. "The code says _"no hunter shall interfere with another's hunt_." Mother didn't interfere with your hunt so much competed against you for the bounty. She told me about that."

"I had the bounty in my ship," Bane shook his head. "That makes the acquisition mine. She broke the code by stealing him from my hold. It was in my rights to challenge her, and I did."

"But she won," Serra finished, "and you couldn't take her."

"She broke the code," Bane retorted, obviously a little surprised that Serra had been able to quote it.

"The acquisition isn't yours by code until you turn them in, enter guild space, or make that first jump back," Serra shook her head. "That's the agreed upon definition of the Code. She got to you before you jumped. You shouldn't have dropped your guard. Or are you so upset you got bested by her that you're taking it out on me because you can't get at my mother anymore?"

Bane stiffened. Serra snorted and released him. He landed on his feet, confused as to why Serra had released him.

"NO bounty is worth dying for, hunter," Serra repeated the first rule of the Code as she deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it onto her belt. "The Republic's bounty on me is not sanctioned by the Guild, just like it's bounty on you. If you want a real bounty then go hunt the Jedi. They're worth a million credits a head and unlike the Republic, the Confederacy won't try to apprehend you when they give you the credits."

Serra turned to walk away, and Bane called out after her. "Not going to kill me?"

Serra turned her head and faced Bane with a ghost of a smile, "no hunter shall slay another hunter. My mother taught me your code, bounty hunter, and she raised me, not my master."

She walked away again, and this time Bane did not interrupt her. Her dagger flew back to her hand when she held it out and she tucked it into its scabbard near her blaster. The weapons were a strange contrast to her lightsaber and Sith combat uniform, but fitting somehow. Bane stood there as she was rejoined by Lyrii, completely confused and unsure what to make of her. He wasn't stupid enough to try to shoot her in the back though.

"Is that wise?" Lyrii asked Serra, casting her senses behind her to watch Bane.

"Wise to leave him alive?" Serra attempted to clarify.

" _Yes_ ," Lyrii said strongly.

"I don't want him dead," Serra promised as the adrenaline rush began to fade. "If I kill him the other bounty hunters will want to kill _me_ to prove they're better than he was. I want him to stand down."

"Did you use a mind trick on him?" Lyrii asked.

Serra gave her an innocent look as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

That made Lyrii roll her eyes. "You need to be able to use the Force like you just did all the time."

"No," Serra grumbled. "I need to form a stable connection with it."

She stopped unexpectedly. Her connection to the Force had been drifting away, but now suddenly snapped back into place. Approaching were more of the Zygerrian guards. Casually, she waved hello to them. When Lyrii started to fall into stance, Serra elbowed her and made her stand down.

"Remember," Serra reminded Lyrii. "I'm here as an ambassador to the Confederacy as well as a customer. You killed their kin and I don't want the queen mad at us for that. I need to straighten this out."

Lyrii huffed softly, but made no further move of aggression as the guards clustered around them.

"Hello," Serra greeted them with false warmth that sounded very cold. "I want to speak to Queen Scintel."

 **...**

 **Okay, my lapse in this story is over. I will go back to updating it normally, and not leave it abandoned in a dark corner that's riddled with cobwebs. When i wrote this chapter i was tempted to call it "Revenge of the Sith", _but_ i figured i'd get a few complaints given that's the name of a very important movie. **

**Serra's more of a bounty hunter then a Sith at this point, which is one reason why Dooku gets upset with her.**


	9. An Important Audience

This was the second time Serra Winters had been escorted to see Queen Scintel. Instead of going to her throne room this time, she and Lyrii were brought to her private box in the open-air theater where a batch of slaves were being auctioned off. Her prime minister was down in the arena, running the slave auctions. There were two guards on either side of the doorway. Her yellow-skinned Twi'lek slave was standing to one side with her head lowered, awaiting orders from her mistress.

It felt strange for Serra to be walking around without her lightsaber, blaster, or her knives. There was no way to truly disarm a Force-user though, and Serra was sure she could handle any physical trouble. The attack she feared was verbal. Although Lyrii had needed to kill the guards, Scintel probably wouldn't see it that way and Serra didn't want to break the fledgling alliance between Zygerria and the Confederacy.

An auction was in process when she and Lyrii were escorted to where Scintel sat watching the proceedings. There were a line of Twi'lek slaves on the ground and they were being brought up to the stage one at a time. It was the same group of slaves she and Lyrii had seen when they had first entered the city. Unlike last time, Serra could feel that Lyrii was calm. Being able to kill the Zygerrian guards seemed to have cooled her temper.

"Queen Scintel," Serra greeted her.

"Ah, Winters," Scintel replied in a somewhat icy tone, still not giving Serra the respect of looking at her.

"I have come to say goodbye, as per your request," Serra said idly. "I meant to come earlier but I was… held up."

"You have fine manners," Scintel mused, "as fine as you would expect given that you are the ward of the Confederacy's leader."

"I thank you," Serra tipped her head as was polite. "I have not been under Count Dooku's s guardianship for long, but I can tell you that my position will not make me more tractable when I'm attacked."

 _That_ got Scintel to turn towards her at last, ears twisted back like an irritated cat.

" _You_ were attacked?" Scintel demanded in a low voice. "You have slain eight of my guards who were trying to do their duty and keep order in my court."

"Milady did not kill them," Lyrii spoke up before Serra could counter Scintel. "You are aware of the bounty the Republic has placed on her. Serra was fighting a bounty hunter attempting to collect on that. I killed your men that were trying to interrupt her fight."

Serra closed her eyes at Lyrii's declaration, almost groaning, but instead exhaling as a soft sigh. Scintel growled at Lyrii and the men scattered around tensed. A glare by Serra made them rethink their attempt to close in.

"I told them to stand down," Lyrii continued, "but they didn't. I am trained as a warrior, and warriors kill opponents. If they had been wiser, they would waited for Serra to finish with the bounty hunter before continuing to approach."

"If my men were smarter," Scintel snarled and stood, turning her back on the proceedings to face them.

Serra took a step between the women before things escalated further. "I was attacked by a bounty hunter who sought to turn me over to the Republic and I defended myself. I do not know how familiar you are with the battlefield, but things are chaotic. An influx of new opponents who come running up with their blasters bared is not to be taken lightly. If you wait to see if they're friends or not and it turns out they're enemies, you're dead. Your men should have treaded lighter and not approached so carelessly. Lyrii was correct about that."

Scintel hissed softly, but Serra continued.

"However," Serra added, "Lyrii did use more force then was necessary."

"Here I thought you weren't a Jedi," Scintel muttered.

Serra bristled at the comparison. "I am _not_ a _Jedi_! I would have thought you offer better security to your customers. The bounty hunter shot down a Brezak and went on to cause quite a commotion in your spaceport. I imagine quite a few of your customers were scared or killed in the fight. All your guards did is needlessly run into a firefight and get themselves killed."

"Why you impudent-" Scintel snarled.

"Yeah," Serra interrupted. "I am impudent. Being targeted and shot at and getting a stun net thrown at me makes me a little impudent. I came here in good faith and was attacked because of _your_ lax security, and you are upset at _me_ for defending _myself_? Any time you enter a battlefield you run the risk of being killed. Your guards were stupid as well as weak to be cut down so quickly and easily."

Lyrii blinked, surprised by Serra's outburst. She didn't think her friend would have gone quite that crazy. Was Serra not backing down to avoid looking weak? Scintel was the queen though, so this could end badly. Serra kept Scintel's gaze as a new group of slaves were escorted into the arena and introduced to the potential buyers.

Then Scintel started laughing. Serra had been expecting a lot of responses, but that was not one of them. Why was she laughing? Wary that she was about to be blindsided, Serra pulled the Force around her fingers. Scintel did not attack her though, nor order her guards to do so.

"Weak and foolish, hmm?" Scintel repeated. "You have embarrassed my guards before and it seems you have done so again. They were killed by a single teenager who stands before me with hardly a smudge on her clothing. Perhaps my guards need to become stronger and learn to think before they rush into battle. Clearly, I have overestimated them."

Her cutting tone made the two guards by the doorway react, although to their credit there was little external sign of their internal turmoil at letting their queen down.

"You have taught me and my guard a valuable lesson," Scintel nodded briskly. "There is great danger to assuming you can win any battle you enter."

Serra painfully remembered her fight with Bane when heh ad tricked her into walking into the stun net. She felt she could agree wholeheartedly with the queen's declaration. Still, she needed to make sure, for the Confederacy's sake, that Scintel held no grudge.

"I half expected to be attacked for killing your guards," Serra pointed out.

"They were _weak_ to be killed so easily." Scintel admitted strongly, looking over the auction as bidding began, "unworthy of being Zygerrian. Not all who share our blood are worthy. You however, I believe you would make a good Zygerrian… for a human. You are strong of will and body for one so young, and clearly well trained. If Count Dooku, your guardian, is as strong as you, then he might indeed be a worthwhile ally."

Serra let the ember of power she had gathered to herself fade. Zygerrians were indeed kin to the Sith, willing to enslave or banish even their own if they were seen as weak. She hadn't thought she would actually be able to get the queen to disown the men Lyrii had killed, but given the circumstance, she was hardly going to speak up.

"Unless you wish to stay and watch the auction you may leave," Scintel said.

"Thank you for the offer," Serra tipped her head to the queen, "but I have been delayed long enough. The Count will begin to wonder where I am."

"Then go," Scintel dismissed. "If you have need of a new slave then you know where we are."

An invitation to return? Serra bowed lightly, giddy at her good fortune, and then motioned Lyrii to accompany her. The two of them left the queen's presence to return to the ship before something else went wrong, but before she left, Lyrii nudged the mind of the Twi'Lek slave again, reminding her that someone needed to put Queen Scintel in her place.

Scintel watched as Atai Molec began confirming sells. The remaining slaves were bidded upon rapidly by the customers present. She felt almost giddy herself, like a young kit again. Slavery was the lifeblood of Zygerria. It always had been and always would be. Thanks to the Republic and their accursed Jedi, that lifeblood had been strangled to the point of death.

The outbreak of war with the Separatists had drawn the Jedi to the front lines of battle where they died in droves, and without the watchdogs, Zygerria was once again beginning to thrive. Indirectly, they owed much to the Confederacy. When Dooku had directly asked if Zygerria would join the Confederacy she had been unsure. He had promised that no one would impede the slave trade as the Republic had done.

Still, words were just words and she was wary of a former Jedi like Dooku. Not all former Jedi were bad though.

Scintel remembered when she had still been young, only half-grown. Someone from the Republic had tried to assassinate her to get at her mother, the Queen, and she had been saved by a young Force-wielder. Her hero had come through the window of the palace later that night and into Miraj's room, causing a bit of a disagreement between them. Miraj had mistakenly called her a Jedi and gotten on her nerves since the human had left the Order and was now a drifter.

Using information she had gotten, Serena, as the former Jedi had introduced herself, had been able to tell Scintel's mother who the sniper was and he was apprehended. It had been traced back to the Republic. Scintel's mother had still been grateful, and the human had stayed as a guest for a few weeks, but then she decided to leave. Whatever she intended to do with her life now, it was not being a slaver. The queen had understood and the human had parted as a friend of the Scintel family.

The young woman had returned to Zygerria several times after that, and three such times stuck strongly in Scintel's mind. During the first, Serena had come as a bounty hunter out for her first bounty, her target having blended in with the multitude of servants onwrold to hide. Miraj had helped Serena, but things had gotten a little out of hand when the two of them had taken control of a Guard post so Serena could hack into their system and use the surveillance to find her target. They had found him, chased him to a starship, but the ship had gotten away. Miraj's mother had been less than thrilled and Serena had been put in the dungeon until Miraj had freed her. They had tracked down the target, who hadn't actually left the planet, merely made it look like he had in hopes Serena would leave to chase after the ship. A rather interesting series of events had taken place, including Miraj braining a Guard in the face with a tray, but Serena had gotten her bounty.

Their next encounter had been during Miraj's coronation as queen, which Serena had attended, after the death of Miraj's mother. Things had not gone as planned. Someone had tried to poison Miraj, and it would have worked if not for the Force warning Serena about the drink. The traitor had been tracked from the slave who had placed the toxin in the drink, to one of Miraj's childhood friends, Asim Mir, to a Dark Jedi that had been using the Force to manipulate him. Serena had tracked down the fallen Jedi, but had soon learned that he had three other Force-wielding friends with him, all of which used the Dark Side. The Dark Jedi, the only one with official training, still bore his blue lightsaber. Serena had beaten them and gotten a nice bounty for the Dark Jedi, but had come out of it with a scar on her cheek from where the Dark Jedi's lightsaber had grazed her.

The third event that came to Miraj's mind was also the last time she had seen Serena. It had been less than a decade ago. The Jedi Order had found her and she had been on the run from them. Miraj had never understood why the Order were so dead set on bringing Serena in. She had left the Order in peace, which Jedi were allowed to do, but they somehow got the idea that she was a _Dark Jedi_ – a user of the Dark Side of the Force. Serena had bought a young slave and trusted Scintel enough to tell her that the slave would be a companion to her _own_ daughter.

Although Scintel didn't know Serra too well she didn't think the girl would allow herself to be placed in Dooku's custody if Dooku was weak or foolish. Perhaps then, she should give serious thought to having Zygerria join the Confederacy. It was looking more and more to Scintel that it would ensure Zygerria's prosperity.

She smiled as she thought about the former Jedi she had argued with, helped, and fought beside in the past. Unlike most, Serena had not merely been a political ally or friend. Miraj would always count her as one of her few true friends and she mourned Serena's murder at the hands of the Jedi.

Perhaps it was poetic then, that her friend's daughter had joined the Confederacy – the enemy of the Jedi, and that Scintel would now do so herself. Although the former Jedi had initially introduced herself as Serena Chasha, she had later told Miraj Scintel her real name – Heather Winters.

* * *

 **Heather Winters is not going to tell you her story. She's dead at this point. You're going to hear about her through second-hand accounts. When she left the Jedi Order, Heather wandered all over the galaxy before she became a bounty hunter. After she became a bounty hunter she wandered some more, taking jobs in different sectors. A lot of people knew her, which is why the name Winters resonates so strongly to so many.**


	10. Cordial Greetings

The communication station aboard the Republic ship in route to Tylo activated. Kit Fisto was expecting Cad Bane to contact him to finalize the trade, and activated it without hesitation. He was therefore very surprised to see Serra Winters sitting in a chair with her arms crossed on her lap.

"Hello," Serra greeted him in a surprisingly cordial voice. "Are you Jedi Master Kit Fisto?"

"I am," Fisto agreed, recovering from his surprise. "If you'll pardon the question, why aren't you in a holding cell?"

Serra laughed, a soft, melodic giggle, and shook her head.

"I'm afraid that Cad Bane wasn't quite strong enough to keep me in his custody," Serra shrugged nonchalantly. "Are you surprised?"

Fisto chuckled under his breath. "Given what happened with Kenobi, no, not as much as I could be. Did you kill him?"

"I had no reason to," Serra shook her head. "I do not waste energy doing things that do not need to be done. Bounty hunters make a living by killing and capturing their acquisitions. Although I do not like what Bane did, I don't blame him for it."

Fisto was surprised, and it must have shown because Serra laughed softly. This was not the childish, girly laugh she had used before. This one was grown up, the laugh of a woman.

"You shouldn't be so surprised Jedi," Serra chided Fisto as if he were a friend. "I understand bounty hunters quite well. After all, I was raised by one."

"No," Fisto corrected her. "You were raised by a Jedi, and I regret that she was lost."

"Lost?" Serra interrupted him, her falsely good humor vanishing instantly. "What do you mean by lost? My mother was not lost."

"She was turned against the Jedi Order by the Dark Side," Fisto said flatly. "And I wish it wasn't so. Heather and I were friends. We were younglings at the temple on Coruscant at the same time and became Padawans in the same year."

"Wait, wait, wait," Serra shook her head. "You think my mother left the Jedi Order because she fell to the Dark Side?"

"Of course," Fisto shrugged, lekku rippling with the movement.

Serra sighed and hung her head. "You Jedi are something else, you know that, right? You think the only reason someone would leave your precious order is if they use the Dark Side? Let me tell you something, _Jedi_. The first time I ever felt the Dark Side of the Force was when I met Dooku. My mother never used it – never."

Fisto hesitated. That wasn't what he had heard.

Serra had spent the first half of her life on Mandalore, her mother's homeworld, with her mother's house. She remembered one day of many days. Her mother had given Serra one of her blasters and was kneeling beside her, showing her how to use it. Heather Winters had been wearing her bright pink armorweave vest as she always did. Despite having the right to forge a set of Mandalorian armor she had never done so, citing that the armor was too heavy to be bothered with and that it was Jango Fett's thing.

Serra's first shot had missed the target and it had made another member of her mother's clan – Serra's clan – chuckle, Heather had patiently corrected her grip and told her how to sight the shot. When Serra had shot a second time, she had hit almost dead center. That had shut up the clanmate's laughter and he had nodded appreciatively. Few Mandalorian clans bothered to learn how to shoot anymore, but all the clans of Serra's house did so.

"See," Heather had smiled and ruffled Serra's hair. "That wasn't so hard. Now, let's see how many more times you can hit the target."

"You think the Republic and your Order are _so_ perfect," Serra taunted the Jedi Master. "My mother left you peacefully. She did nothing to harm you, and yet Jedi were sent after her to bring her back as if _they_ knew what was best for _her_."

"She killed Jedi," Fisto cut her off, "dozens of us."

"After," Serra corrected. "She started hunting Jedi after you began hunting her. Why did you hunt her? Why didn't you just leave her alone? Well, I know why. It's the same reason you declared war on the Confederacy. It's because they left the Republic, and that's the one thing you can't stand. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Republic. Hell, you even want the Zygerrians to take their "rightful place" in the Senate. You believe yourself _so high and mighty_ that you think you know best for the _entire galaxy_!"

"Now wait just a-"

"The arrogance of the Republic is something else," Serra laughed, a chill laugh that made Fisto's blood run cold. "Your corrupt Republic is run by money and the will of corporations, and the Jedi Order, which are supposed to be independent, take orders from _them_. You are slaves to the Senate's whims and the sad part is that you don't even know it. My mother realized it. That's why she left. It was not because the Dark Side clouding her judgement or whatever other excuse that's been fed to you. She left because she knew staying with you was a mistake."

There was a moment of silence where Fisto just stared at her, and then he sighed. "That's harsh."

"I could go on about why my mother left the Jedi Order, why the Confederacy left the Republic, and why those two things are the same but I feel I'd bore you."

"Eh?" Fisto smiled. "No, no. I am always interested to hear how the mind of a Sith works. I must know my enemy to defeat them."

"Sith?" Serra leaned back against her seat. "Aren't they all extinct?"

So Serra wasn't going to admit that she was a Sith. Well, Fisto could hardly be surprised.

"In a way," Serra added, her temper returning to cordial. "I owe you Jedi thanks for one thing."

"And what would that be?" Fisto inquired politely.

"You, or rather the bounty Cad Bane took, taught me how very unbecoming arrogance is." Serra smiled, the smile never reaching her eyes. "I was as arrogant as the Republic, overestimating my prowess and not taking the threat Bane posed to me seriously. I won't act so foolishly a second time. You've taught me a valuable lesson."

"Pardon me if I'm not thrilled by that revelation."

"You are pardoned." Serra covered her mouth with one hand to smother a laugh. "You might as well go running back to your Chancellor, seeing as Palpatine is the true leader of the Jedi. There is nothing for you to do out here."

"So it seems," Fisto nodded agreement, inwardly frustrated.

The last thing they wanted to do was make Serra Winters more of a threat and it seemed they had done just that. Heather Winters had been a successful and popular bounty hunter, so turning to the bounty hunters to handle her daughter had seemed foolish to him. It appeared that he had been proven right.

"I hope you will pardon me for cutting off the conversation." Serra brushed her hair over her shoulders, speaking with a note of finality. "My ship will be dropping out of lightspeed soon and I'll need to attend to certain matters. Until we meet again, Master Fisto."

She put two fingers to her lips and blew Fisto a kiss. Then the hologram shut down.

Fisto looked at the table-sized holographic center and then sighed and lowered his head. He remembered when Heather Winters had been apprenticed to Qui-Gon Jinn, having recently passed her Initiate Trials and become a Padawan. She had been hopping up and down like a girl half her age, an infectious joy.

Not all Jedi younglings who completed the Initiate Trials became Padawans. Some joined the Jedi Service Corps, putting aside their training and using what abilities they had to aid the galaxy from a grass-roots level. Others could leave the Order. For a _Padawan_ to leave the order after they had been with their Master for several years was rarer, and usually happened because they had fallen under the sway of the Dark Side.

Serra's comment that she had never felt the Dark Side before Dooku had peaked Fisto's interest. As far as he knew, Heather had been hunted because she was a Dark Jedi. It was only because the Jedi had hunted her that she had taken to killing them, becoming a Jedi Hunter. If a Jedi left the Order in peace then they left. The issue was dropped. If Heather hadn't used the Dark Side they had no right to hunt her. Was Serra telling the truth, and if she was, why had the Order hunted an innocent Jedi?

He remembered catching up with Heather after she had killed a pair of Jedi hunting her, a Knight and a Padawan, her first kills. Fisto would never forget the moment when he saw her. She had been standing above their bodies with her blue lightsaber in her hand. Her hands were shaking so badly her lightsaber was. Then she dropped her lightsaber to the ground and let it deactivate.

She must have sensed Fisto's presence because she had looked up at him. The distress, the panic, the shock in her blue-green eyes had struck Fisto hard. Heather looked like Heather, like one of his oldest friends, not like an enemy.

"Kit," Heather had whispered in a thin, tiny voice. "Why? Why?"

Then she had turned and run from the sight of the Jedi bodies, abandoning her lightsaber. Rather than give chase, Fisto had checked the fallen Jedi to see if they were dead. They were. His master had tried to cut Heather off, but she had evaded him. He remembered seeing his master pick up Heather's lightsaber and comment that at least she no longer had it.

If what Serra said was true, that Heather had never used the Dark Side and was thus _not_ a target of the Jedi Order, then Heather's plea of _why_ now had a new light. Fisto closed his eyes and lowered his head, a pained expression taking over his features. He was assuming that Serra was telling the truth of course, but if she was…

The hologram of one of the Clones on the bridge suddenly appeared on the station in front of Fisto, jolting him to his senses.

"General," the clone greeted him. "There is an incoming message from General Skywalker."

"Excellent," Fisto said strongly, shoving Heather aside, "put him on."

The clone nodded and his image vanished. Anakin Skywalker took his place, and he seemed very pleased with himself.

"How did it go?" Fisto asked, hoping the turmoil he felt didn't show.

"We lost some clones," Skywalker admitted, "but we were able to stop the transfer. We're heading back to base. Do you have Winters in custody?"

Fisto exhaled in relief that Skywalker's mission had gone according to plan, although he knew what he was about to say would put a damper on the Knight's victory.

"No," Fisto admitted, "not quite."

* * *

 **Well, for the most part that was a civilized conversation. Assuming you've seen the _Clone Wars_ series, you know from what happened with Ashoka at the end that the Order has some things to answer for. It almost needs to be gotten rid of by the Empire so an uncorrupted one can be put in its place. _If_ Serra is telling the truth then the Order has a great deal to answer for. Fisto will see to it.**


	11. New Orders

Serra Winters shut down the communication between her and Kit Fisto at almost the same moment _Dark Starr_ dropped out of hyperspace. She looked out the front window at Serenno. Seeing the beautifully forested planet made Serra smile. It was not the planet she considered her home, but it was still beautiful nonetheless.

Lyrii put the ship down on the courtyard of Dooku's manor. Serra left the ship, leaving Lyrii to bring the Twi'lek Arali'Vi to Roo Roo Page and settle her in. She walked over and stood on the edge of the platform, looking over Serenno. As beautiful as it was, she doubted she would ever consider it her home. Mandalore, her mother's home and the place where Serra was born, wasn't her home either. The place she considered home was a backwater planet she bet no one had ever heard of.

Her bracelet vibrated on her wrist, indicating that she had an incoming notification. She tapped on it and a 3D hologram materialized above her bracelet, forming itself into Dooku. Since the hologram was coming from her bracelet she couldn't exactly bow, but she did tip her head to him.

"Master," Serra greeted her surrogate and her master. "Why have you contacted me?"

"I have new orders for you," Dooku informed her, not mentioning Lyrii's name as always.

"New orders?" Serra asked, suddenly confused. "I thought I was supposed to go to Florince to aid the battle there."

"Your orders have changed," Dooku began to instruct her. "Master Koth has left and the Jedi have taken control of the space around the planet. It will be some time before we can counter them."

Serra nodded in understanding, not surprised by the sudden change. War was like that. Heather had taught her that much.

"I understand Master," Serra told him. "Where do you wish to deploy me?"

Dooku gave no outward reaction when she called him "master" a second time, but was inwardly surprised. Serra normally used that title once during their conversation, if that.

"Raxus."

"Raxus?" Serra repeated, looking confused. "Hold on a minute, you're sending me to Raxus? The seat of the Confederacy's senate?"

Just as Dooku suspected, Serra was starting to look ticked off. She was a warrior, every bit Heather's daughter. Although she was still growing into the role of Commander, he suspected it wouldn't take her too long to adapt to it. Her weak spot was also the same as her mother – politics.

"Yes," Dooku said simply.

"What did I do?" Serra asked him innocently, assuming she was being punished.

"Nothing," Dooku told her simply. "Have you forgotten? You are my ward, an orphan I have adopted as my heir since I have no children. You have to do more than serve on the battlefield when you succeed me. As a Countess, you will have political duties as well."

What Dooku was saying was true in more than one way. They couldn't open say they were Sith, but he was reminding her that she was his apprentice as well as his heir. Assuming that she managed to kill him and inherit the title of Darth she would not only become the Countess of Serenno, but the new Lord of the Sith. Unlike Jedi, a Sith's general function was to work from the shadows using espionage, subtlety, secrecy. They weren't supposed to be seen or known. Politics was supposed to be their forte, not combat.

Serra would also have to keep up her title of Countess, and convince people she was no more than that while she secretly worked to bring about the fall of the Republic. Right now, she didn't stand a chance at being a Countess or Darth with such trouble in politics.

"Yes master," Serra admitted in a subdued tone.

"What happened to your hair?" Dooku added.

Serra paused blankly and raised a hand to her hair. Most of her hair was short, but the bangs that framed her face reached nearly to her chin. She touched the ends of her bangs and felt that they were burned, almost singed. Then she touched the rest of her hair, feeling the ends were equally damaged. Slowly, she felt herself turning red as she remembered Bane's electrical stun net hitting her. The voltage must have fried the tips of her hair.

"Nothing," Serra bluffed.

She knew that her voice had cracked and from the look Dooku gave her, he obviously wasn't buying her terrible attempt at a lie.

"Nothing that couldn't be handled," Serra corrected herself.

There was no way she was going to tell him about Bane.

Dooku's look didn't lessen so she repeated, "it's fine."

"Very well," Dooku admitted, guessing he wasn't going to get the answers he wanted by questioning her.

"I'll head over to Raxus as soon as the slave is settled in master," Serra promised, using his title a fourth time.

"See that you do," Dooku informed her.

She tipped her head in a bow and then turned off the hologram. Then she made a face and felt the singed tips of her hair. There was no way she could show up on Raxus with burned hair, which meant cutting the ends before she got there. With a sigh, she drew her dagger, took part of her bangs, and cut the singed ends off.

She dropped the strands and set to work cutting the rest of her hair. What she wanted to do was go bash a few clones, but she wasn't going to a battlefield. No, she was going to Raxus where she had to mind her manners and speak politely as was courteous. She couldn't just KO whoever was annoying her like she could in battle. There was no way to vent over the fool Bane had made out of her.

Serra sighed as she cut off the ends of more of her hair, the strands of silver-blonde whisked away by the breeze.

"I hate politics."

* * *

Dooku stood in front of the communicator, a curious look on his face. It was rare for Serra to give him even one "master", yet she had called him that four times. Events on Zygerria must have changed her outlook on having a master. Her respect of him had gone up. Sicking Cad Bane on her had been his master's plan, not his, but it seemed to have worked out in the end.

* * *

 **Short chapter and one to go until the end of this story.**


	12. Miraj Scintel and Heather Winters

**Heather Winters (Serena Chasha) is dead by the time the events of Serra's stories happen. Thus, Heather cannot tell her story. Only her friends and those who knew her in her life can tell her story for her. I think it has as much right to be told as Serra's.**

* * *

Then someone had tried to kill her. Miraj had been walking along a crowded street dressed in commoner clothing when the sniper had shot. A younger human had just been walking past her when the shot went off. There was no silencer on it.

Miraj had just scuffed a foot on the ground and stumbled on a stray stone, her head bobbing down. The first shot had gone over her head and hit a slave. She jerked back, standing straight with huge eyes. Light had reflected off a scope and a second shot through the air.

The shot froze in the air midway between Miraj and the sniper. It hadn't wanted to stop and it elongated unnaturally, but remained frozen. Miraj jerked back in surprise, seeing the human female that had walked past her standing with her hand raised. The human flicked her hand towards the sniper and the frozen blaster bolt flew backwards and shot the sniper's rifle right out of his hands. He fled quickly.

When the guards had appeared, they had attempted to apprehend the human woman. Miraj clearly remembered hearing her snicker. The human flashed her grin at Miraj and then jumped on top of a nearby stall. Miraj had stared in stupor as the human proceeded to run vertically up the wall, make it to the roof, and then vanish. It hadn't taken long for one of the guards to recognize Miraj and bustle her back to the palace. After almost getting shot she hadn't complained, too busy thinking about the human. Whoever she was, she was obviously a force user and that meant she was probably a Jedi. The Jedi hated Zygerria because of it's slave trade, so why would one of them save its princess?

Miraj had been back in her room, nursing a cup of juice as she lounged near an open window, when her visitor had appeared. Someone had knocked and Miraj had instinctively called out, "enter." When the door didn't open, she lowered the cup and looked that way. A throat cleared behind her and Miraj jumped, spilling the juice as she whipped around. Her nerves had had a long day.

Standing on the balcony was a person and she waved at Miraj, wiggling her fingers. "Hi ya, you feeling better?"

Miraj's jaw dropped and she looked at her visitor. "How did you get up there?"

"I jumped," she shrugged.

Miraj stared as the visitor lowered the hood concealing her face, the robe hiding most of her form falling open. Long, pale blonde locks cascaded down past her shoulders and she had luminous blue-purple eyes. She was a human.

"Hey," Miraj realized, standing in one smooth movement. "You're that one from before."

"Before?" The human asked, tilting her head to one side.

"From the blaster bolt," Miraj exemplified in exasperation, setting the cup aside and approaching.

The human was young, Miraj noticed, a teenager close to her own age. She smiled at Miraj and brushed her black cloak back over her shoulders so it fell down her back in a narrow curtain.

"Sorry to spook you," the human apologized, walking down from her balcony to the floor of Miraj's suite.

"I suggest you be careful," Miraj warned the human darkly. "There are guards outside my door. Surely you know who I am."

"Princess Miraj Scintel, daughter of Queen Nalia Scintel," the human quoted as she came to stand not far from Miraj. "I know. I didn't realize it until after I saved you from the blaster shot. The crowd recognized you were their princess after the guards took you away and it was a little hard to miss their chatter, so yes, I know."

"What?" Miraj chuckled. "You didn't save me because I was Princess and you wanted to earn my favor?"

"No," the human said blandly.

Miraj was confused by the human's steady response, but didn't buckle. "Why then?"

"Because I could," the human shrugged, walking past Miraj and pouring herself a cup of juice.

"Oh do make yourself at home," Miraj informed her caustically.

The human smiled at her, a bright smile, and then sat down on the sofa with a cheery, "thanks."

Miraj growled to herself.

"It didn't inconvenience me to save your life, so I did," the human continued.

Miraj was taken aback and slowly approached as the human took a long sip from the cup. "You really didn't do it because I was the Princess."

The human sighed and hung her head, lowering her cup to her lap. "No, I just told you that I didn't know you were Princess until after the fact. Do you have to have a reason to have someone's life?"

The human took another sip of the juice, evidently liking it. She crossed her legs and leaned back on the sofa, exhaling at the softness. Miraj looked the teenager over. Strangely, she didn't see a blaster on her, or any other form of weapon. Did she have a lightsaber hidden or was she unharmed? Was it even possible to disarm a Force-wielder? She didn't think so.

"Why are you staring?" The human asked Miraj without looking up from her drink.

Miraj looked down as the human turned her eyes up, feeling flustered by her easy confidence.

"My name's Serena by the way," the human added.

"Why did you tell me that?" Miraj asked strongly, stepping closer to the human.

"I know your name," Serena pointed out with a shrug. "It seemed only fair."

Miraj clapped a hand over her face at Serena's innocence. "Do you know nothing about the politics of keeping information to yourself? You know, the less your enemy knows about you the better."

Serena smiled her easy, disarming smile at Miraj, somehow making it look apologetic at the same time. "I'm afraid I'm rather new to the political game."

"I'd expect a Jedi to be better than this," Miraj muttered and threw her hands up.

"Former," Serena pointed out, waving a cup in Miraj's direction as she drained it a second time. "This stuff really is delicious. What is this called?"

"Starblossom," Miraj snapped, "and what do you mean, former?"

"People _are_ allowed to leave the Jedi Order," Serena pointed out as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Not many do though. Most forever believe in the righteous divinity of the Republic that the Order serves, morons."

She actually rolled her eyes when she said the last word, peaking Miraj's interest. "You actually have emotions. That's a little strange for a Jedi."

"I'm not a Jedi though," Serena reminded Miraj. "I don't have the patience for all the arrogance pacifism and they're "we always know best" mantra. It tends to try the nerves after a while. You understand, don't you? Zygerrians don't exactly get along with the Republic."

"No we don't," Miraj agreed, "but how did you get past the security, Jedi?"

Serena calmly set the cup onto the nightstand beside the sofa. Miraj saw her fingers move and then suddenly Serena turned and threw something. The princess froze when she felt something touch her throat and looked into the gaze of Serena. It was steely where before it had been light and warm. She was a good actor, having tricked Miraj into lowering her guard with very little trouble.

Slowly, Miraj looked down. Hovering in midair was a metal senbon, a throwing needle, about eight inches long. Its sharpened tip was almost touching her throat. Equally slowly, Miraj raised her head back to Serena. The human was watching her, hands folded somewhat primly in her lap. She smiled, amused by something Miraj didn't know.

"You're terrified," Serena observed, "but I wouldn't know if I didn't have the Force to tip me off. You're very good at staying composed under pressure. That's a good trait for a future ruler to have."

Miraj's first guess was right, she mused. Serena might not have saved her because she was the princess, but she had come back to Miraj's quarters after learning she was. She was here to either kill her as the sniper had tried to do or take her hostage and use her as ransom.

"How much exactly are you going to ask for me?" Miraj asked dryly.

"Ask for you?" Serena frowned, a blank look taking over her features.

Now Miraj stared back at her, also containing a blank look.

"You're not going to ransom me?" Miraj asked, trying to make sense of the intruder.

"No," Serena said slowly. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm the princess," Miraj addressed her, stating the obvious. "Wait a minute. Why do you have a blade to my throat if you're not going to ransom me?"

"Because you called me a Jedi," Serena countered in a dark tone. "I'm not."

Miraj stared openly and blankly at Serena, trying to make sense of the human who had first saved her and was now holding her hostage. No, she wasn't even doing that. What was she doing?

"You're Zygerrian, I'm human," Serena shrugged. "You're a princess and I'm… well, I'm not sure what I am since I left the Order. The point is we're two different people, so don't pretend you know my motives. I have no intention to take you hostage, Miraj."

Serena raised a hand and the senbon at Miraj's throat sped backwards and vanished up the sleeve of the human's jacket. Serena calmly refilled her cup with Starblossom juice a third time. Miraj rubbed the front of her throat where the senbon had been, taking a closer look at her unexpected visitor.

The human before her was in her early to mid-teens, and Miraj didn't see any defining characteristics like scars or tattoos, nor any blasters. Senbon were a strange weapon choice since they were so small and capable of inflicting only so much damage. One had to have pinpoint accuracy to cause any harm with them, and in battle you usually didn't have a chance to take the careful aim you needed. Once you threw them, they were also gone, unlike a blaster, which you could fire multiple times.

All of the problems with using the weapon vanished when you were a Force-wielder who could use telekinesis to aim and recall the needles without a second thought. They were quieter than a blaster, Miraj supposed, and as long as you could recall them you'd never run out of shots. Perhaps Serena didn't have a blaster because she didn't need one.

The human was dressed rather casually in a pair of black slacks and boots, a white long-sleeve shirt, an armorweave vest, and a jacket with slightly longer and looser sleeves then was eneded. Miraj suspected that the senbon were stored inside the jacket's sleeves on her forearms, which would account for the alterations of the sleeves.

"Um," Miraj frowned as she realized something strange, "why are you dressed in pink?"

Serena gave her an innocent look and looked down at her clothing. Her armorweave vest was colored bright bubblegum pink, and her jacket was _very_ bright hot pink. The trim on her otherwise plain black cloak was also magenta.

"I like pink." Serena whined with an hmph. "Besides, wearing black, brown, white, or blue is what everyone else does. Whenever I went into battle, all of my enemies stop and give me the same look you did. It's easy to kill them while they gawk, and Qui-Gon Jinn also said it made it easy for him to keep track of me on the chaos of a battlefield."

She shook her head at everyone's concept that warriors always dressed in some plain or otherwise dark color.

Miraj tried to focus, attempting to make sense of her visitor. She didn't think she'd be able to.

"Why are you here?" Miraj asked Serena sternly. "If it's not to take me hostage, then why?"

"I needed a place to stay," Serena shrugged. "I found lots of empty rooms in the palace when I looked around."

Miraj gave up trying to get Serena to act seriously.

"Besides," Serena added, "I was curious. This is where I followed the sniper. He came here after he fled the scene, and he's in the lower levels of the palace right now. It's a male Twi'Lek with dark blue skin."

Miraj whirled back to Serena, snapping a " _what_?"

"Yeah," Serena agreed. "I came because I was curious to see where he would head after I killed his rifle. Wasn't exactly thinking here."

"How did you know he came here?" Miraj asked. "The guards lost track of him."

"I'm a force- sensitive," Serena reminded her. "I didn't see him so much as sense him."

"Could you pick him out of the slaves here in the palace?" Miraj asked her quickly, a plan forming.

"Sure, if I could see him again," Serena agreed with a shrug and a sip of the juice. "I bet there are lots of slaves though. You'd have to get them all lined up for me, and that might be difficult. I'd probably have to talk to your mother."

"Ah," Miraj's look became pained and she spoke slowly. "That's probably not a good idea."

"Why not?" Serena lowered the cup from her lips.

"My mother isn't…." Miraj tried to figure out how to say this, "fond of force wielders. You have to understand how much harm the Jedi have done to Zygerria, how hard they've tried to strangle slavery – our lifeblood."

"I'm not a Jedi," Serena pointed out darkly.

"She won't care," Miraj shot back. "I might be able to arrange something on my own though. There's an examination coming up the day after tomorrow. All of the slaves will be assembled. We have many male Twi'Leks working in the lower levels of the palace. I'm sure the sniper is among them. If I can get you a change of clothing, I can pass you off as my handmaiden, so you'll have an excuse to be with me as I go to watch. Then you can pick him out."

"Simple enough," Serena nodded agreement. "I like simple plans. The Jedi tended to make theirs so complicated to the point where if one thing goes wrong everything collapses."

Someone knocked on the door to Miraj's suite, opening it a moment later.

"Princess," a royal guardsman announced as he entered. "Pardon me for barging in but the Queen requests an audience with you at-"

His voice trailed off when he saw Serena. Serena was sitting with her back to the door, but smiled when he yanked out his blaster and pointed it at her. Miraj didn't trust that smile. With a sigh, Serena slowly set the cup on the stand beside the pitcher. The princess almost missed the movement as Serena flexed the fingers of her hand and the responding flicker of metal.

The next moment, the guardsman had dropped his blaster, the metallic needles having pinned sleeves of his shirt to the wall. Another needle was hovering an inch from his left eye, ready to skewer it, so he didn't struggle. Serena waved a hand over her shoulder and the door to Miraj's room closed itself. Then the human stood and turned to face the guardsman, looking irritated.

"I don't like it when people point blasters at me," Serena chided the guardsman, "Particularly when my back is turned."

"Don't," Miraj cried out when Serena narrowed her eyes, thinking she was going to kill him. She quickly interposed herself between Serena and him. "That's just Asim. He's a friend."

"He's also quite young now that I look at him," Serena pointed out. "He looks your age."

"I am," Asim said calmly. "May I ask who you are and what you are doing to my princess?"

Serena tilted her head to one side, amused by how calm he was despite the circumstance he was in.

"She followed the sniper that tried to kill me earlier," Miraj explained. "He's here in the palace. We just came up with a plan so she can identify him."

"You're not a Jedi?" Asim asked Serena in a tone more curious then accusatory.

"Not anymore," Serena promised him, "and I advise you not call me that again."

"Asim," Miraj tried to interject. "Can you get a set of handmaiden clothing for Serena? That way she can attend the examinations with me and find the sniper."

Asim looked between Miraj and Serena and asked simply, "Where did the "we" come from? Do you know her Miraj?"

"Miraj," Serena chuckled, "how informal. I take it you two are friends."

"We are," Miraj told Serena and then looked back at Asim. "She just came through the window and she's a little hard to discourage. She's the best chance we have to identify the sniper."

"With respect, Princess," Asim offered. "You are a member of Zygerria's royal family, and the Zygerrians are enemies of the Republic because we use slavery. You must get used to assassination attempts."

Miraj made a face at him.

"Don't you have a blaster you could be pointing at me?" Asim asked Serena. "These needles are a little bit unorthodox."

Serena started to turn red and she pointedly looked away with a huff, the needles not wavering despite losing her line of sight. She muttered something too softly for either Zygerrian to hear.

"What was that?" Asim asked. "I can't hear you."

The needles by his eye scratched his cheek, but he barely flinched.

"I don't have a blaster," Serena repeated. "I don't know how to use one."

The Zygerrians looked at each other and Serena suddenly defended herself.

"Jedi aren't trained to use them, and I've been a Jedi until recently."

The needle had returned to hover by Asim's eye and he focused on it, biting the corner of his lower lip.

"Hey," Serena interrupted Asim, glad for a distraction. "That's no fair. Stop trying to use the Force to get rid of my needles."

Asim turned red when she accused him of being a Force-wielder and Miraj shushed Serena quickly. "Be quiet. I already told you, Zygerrians don't like force-wielders because of our contact with the Republic. You'll get him kicked out of the guard."

"Ah," Serena said knowingly. "Now I get it. You're not fazed by my force-wielding like most Zygerrians are because you're friends with one, Miraj. Zygerrians hate to admit it, but they can be sensitive to the Force. I bet that's why Asim there is a Guardsman despite being so young. The Force rather levels the playing field. So, can you get me the clothing Asim?"

As she spoke the last sentence, Serena recalled the needles that had been pinning Asim's arms to the wall and the one by his eye. The needles vanished back into a sleeve and she clasped her hands behind her back with a smile.

Asim and Miraj looked at each other.

"What's with her?" Asim asked.

"I have no idea," Miraj admitted.

"Hey," Serena whined.

Two days later, Serena stood in a blue jumpsuit beside Miraj. Asim was on the ground level as slaves lined up for examination to make sure they weren't becoming too sickly or frail. A few were pulled out of the lineup, but most were left where they were. Eventually, they came to the Twi'lek Serena recognized, and Asim pulled him from the lineup.

The Twi'Lek was later interrogated,and it was determined that his assassination attempt was an independent action taken by him as he was dissatisfied with Zygerria's enslavement of his people. There was no explanation as to where he had gotten the rifle. It was assumed the black market, but Asim suspected otherwise. He had been present for part of the interrogation, and, using the Force, had sensed certain answers the slave had given hadn't been exactly true.

Asim couldn't say anything as that meant revealing how he knew and exposing his force-sensitivity, but he suspected the Republic had supplied the slave with the rifle. Miraj surmised that if she, the only valid heir to the throne, died, Zygerria would become unstable. Perhaps even unstable enough to allow the Republic to swoop in and place a provisional government of their choosing to stabilize the planet. Naturally, the planet would be inducted into the Republic, Serena had added, and would have to follow the Republic's laws about banning slavery.

Serena had been forced to introduce herself to Miraj's mother and reveal she was a witness to the assassination attempt and that was how she had known which Twi'lek was the assassin. She had managed to hide she was a force-sensitive. Under Nalia's questioning, the human had agreed Serena Chasha wasn't her real name, but added she preferred they call her that. The Jedi Order and she weren't on the best of terms right now, Serena explained, and it would be harder for them to track her if she was using an alias. Saying she was the enemy of the Jedi instantly helped win the queen's approval.

After the "interrogation", Serena had been dismissed and Miraj had caught up to her, Asim following her as usual.

"So you _are_ on bad terms with the order," Miraj accused. "What did you do to get on their nerves?"

"She left," Asim pointed out in his calm manner. "The Order are clingy to their members."

There was a double edge to his words. It was because of the Order's personality _as well_ as Zygerrian's reactions to force-sensitives that he had to keep his ability hidden.

"You are allowed to leave," Serena disagreed, shaking her head. "If you leave in peace they leave you in peace."

She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jackets, looking away as if uneasy at the memory.

"The only Jedi they hunt down are deserters," Serena explained, "those that have fallen to the Dark Side and become Dark Jedi. They're enemies, and they need to be killed. No one that would willingly use the Dark Side is a good person. It's a terrible, twisted thing. I hate it. I've used it before, every Jedi has at least once in their life, but I'm not stupid to use it again."

"You don't use the Dark Side," Asim agreed. "I can feel your aura is of the Light. Why are they mad at you?"

"If you could tell me that I would be very grateful," Serena smiled, a too bright smile. "I have no idea why they are trying to kill me. Two of them tried to though, and I killed them in self-defense, a master and their Padawan. I lost my lightsaber in the fight, which is why I don't have one now."

Miraj had asked her where her lightsaber was before, but this was the first time Serena had answered her. For some reason, Miraj didn't feel satisfied or triumphant by Serena's admission Miraj was right. The princess and her bodyguard both stared at her and Serena's forced smile faded. She shrugged as if it was no big deal and then walked away. Neither Miraj nor Asim attempted to stop her.

A week passed and Serena finally decided it was time to leave Zygerria. Nalia Scintel had offered to let Serena stay, but she was too much of a Jedi to live as a slaver. Whatever she was meant to do, she wouldn't find it here. She walked through the spaceport, her dufflebag slung over one shoulder, as she headed to the transport she had booked passage on. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do with her life, but she didn't seem particularly concerned. Miraj, walking briskly to catch up to her, knew Asim acted like that to and wondered if it was a Force thing.

Serena stopped walking and turned around, a smirk-like smile touched her lips. "Not bad Asim. You're able to reach out to me. Those lessons I've been giving you are working wonders."

Miraj smiled, secretly glad that Asim's training in the Force was working. Serena's lessons didn't make any sense to Miraj, but it evidently made sense to him. She and Asim were dressed in commoner clothing, although Miraj had a deactivated electrowhip tucked into her shirt, her weapon of choice, and Asim had a blaster on his side in plain sight.

Serena turned from her impromptu Padawan to Miraj and reminded her, "I already said I'm leaving."

She had a sly smile, and Miraj smiled to. It was hard not to return Serena's smile. She was like that.

"I know," Miraj promised her. "I just wanted to say a proper goodbye seeing as you snuck out of the palace and just left a note on your pillow. I have no idea when you'll be back."

"I don't do sappy goodbyes," Serena apologized.

"That makes two of us," Miraj promised her friend. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"The Force will guide me," Serena promised, believing what she said. "It has not abandoned me as the Order has."

"If you ever wish to become a slaver, you'll be welcome to sign with our guild." Miraj added, her way of saying she would miss Serena.

"I doubt I will," Serena warned her, "but I'll keep it in mind. I'm more of a hunter then a slaver. Maybe I'll take into bounty hunting."

She laughed as if that idea was ridiculous. Asim nodded seriously in agreement, and he took a step forward to his teacher in the Force and held something out to her. Serena's smile faded when she saw what he was holding. It was a gunbelt with a holstered blaster pistol and two extra powerpacks.

"I already said I don't want to touch _that_ ," Serena reminded him, fixing a glare on the blaster.

"No one says you have to," Asim pointed out. "Consider its presence a deterrent against troublemakers. It's less memorable then your needles, and you can use this without revealing your abilities. Pointing it is usually all you need to do. Shooting it come second."

Serena looked at it seriously, and Miraj knew Asim was right. She was trying to fly beneath the radar and using her needles in conjunction with the Force was not a good way to go unnoticed. It was almost as obvious as igniting a lightsaber that she had Jedi training. Despite temptations otherwise, the princess said nothing. This argument between Serena and Asim had been going on for over a week now, and it was not her argument.

"What is _it_ exactly?" Serena asked without touching the blaster pistol.

"KYD-21," Asim answered, "a fairly common model outside the core. It's easy to modify."

Serena stared at _it_ thoughtfully and Miraj wondered if Asim was actually getting through to her. One thing she had learned about the human was that she was stubborn. Most humans were. That was why they made such terrible slaves.

"I'll make a deal with you," Serena said thoughtfully. "If you promise to keep up on the exercises I gave you to hone your ability, I'll carry _that_. I wager that sooner or later I'll come this way again. If you can impress me with your sensitivity, I'll keep it and you can show me how to modify it."

Miraj's eyebrows shot up in surprise, amazed Serena was giving ground. Asim hesitated though and Miraj knew he had been having trouble with the Force exercises he had been given. He was over a decade behind a normal Jedi when it came to his training, and the youngling exercises Serena had been talking him through had been giving him a headache.

Serena didn't let him look away and after a moment Asim muttered, "fine."

Miraj looked down to hide her smile as Serena took the gunbelt from Asim and belted it around her waist. She suddenly wondered if Serena's pining about using a blaster had all been for show to trick Asim into agreeing to a deal she made. Jedi were crafty like that and, former member or not, Serena had still been raised in the temple.

"I'll make sure there's some Starblossom juice waiting when you return to… test Asim." Miraj promised.

"Miraj," Asim whined mournfully.

Miraj shrugged, having seen Serena fight with four of the palace guard and knowing better then to argue with her. Serena had made the deal, not Miraj. Asim shouldn't have agreed to it if he didn't like it.

With a depressed look, Asim followed Miraj's lead as she saluted Serena in the Zygerrian style, a fisted hand over the heart. Serena returned their salute, tapping the side of her hand against her forehead in the human style and bringing her heels together. Then with another grin, she always had one ready, Serena turned and walked up the loading ramp of the transport ship she had bought passage on.

Miraj Scintel and Asim Mir stood back and watched as the transport took off.

"Come," Miraj ordered Asim once the ship left the atmosphere, "we better get back to the palace before mother realizes I'm missing."

"Yes Milady," Asim bowed his head to her, still disheartened.

They turned and left, blending into the crowd.

* * *

 **The End**

 **To Be Continued in...**

 ** _The Problem with Politics_**


End file.
